The Mother in the Mystery
by bailey80
Summary: When Booth's mother mysteriously reappears in his life the secrets she brings with her threaten to destroy everything.
1. Prologue

The walls in the office were blue. That was part of the reason she liked going there. Throughout the rest of The Facility the walls were white. Even in her private living quarters there were nothing but white walls and concrete floors. Each inhabitant had the same furnishings for their rooms: a solid oak bed fitted with white linens, a bedside table with a drawer that contained a note pad and a pen, and a dresser that sat opposite the bed in which to keep their clothing. Everyone had the same clothing. Three pairs of jeans, a pair of khakis, four shirts and five sets of underclothes. Shoes were not necessary as no one was allowed to go outside. The inhabitants wore only white cotton slippers. Jewelry was forbidden, as were all forms of media, including print that was not specifically sanctioned by The Leader.

However, some inhabitants were allowed extra privileges. They were those who rose within The Facility to a second or third tier status by earning the trust of The Leader. They were allowed to help with managing the day to day activities of the inhabitants. The Leader had long ago found that this was required in order to successfully manage the group.

George was such a member. Hester had befriended him years ago and this had provided her with benefits that the other inhabitants did not have. Small things, such as television (although only news programs were allowed), a handful of books and magazines, and blue walls. He allowed her to come into his office whenever she wanted and join him as he worked on the daily business of The Facility. This morning she had spent hours pouring over copies of People Magazine. It reminded her of her time on the outside, before the breakdown. Her memories from that time were few and for the most part, they were too painful to recall. George worked on his spreadsheets while Hester read each article word for word. Often stopping and re-reading passages or questioning him on subjects such as, "What happened to the twin towers?" and "What exactly is a Kardashian?"

"I don't quite understand," Hester said in response to his attempt to answer the latter question.

"That's okay no one on the outside understands it either." George shared a laugh with his favorite of the inhabitants.

But Hester's laughter abruptly stopped as she turned the page of the magazine. George watched as she brought the paper closer to her face, as if trying to draw the information into herself.

"Hester, what's wrong?"

"That's my son." She held the magazine for George to see for himself.

George examined the page. It was an article about a bestselling author and her family. The instant he saw the name on the page, George knew that he had made a fatal miscalculation. "No Hester, your son is dead. Both your sons are dead. You've told me that many times. That's why you're here."

"That's what my husband told me but this is him." She shuddered as she brought the magazine back into her lap, staring at the man in the picture. "This is my Seeley."


	2. The Couple in the Red SUV

Author's Note: _This story is set in the current season, with spoilers through, "The Crack in the Code." The name of baby Booth is also revealed, if you are trying to avoid that piece of information, but there are no other spoilers. Although staying true to canon the story goes a little bit science fiction-y, think Fringe or X-Files type themes. I promise that all, or at least most of your questions will be answered by the end of the story. I have already written it in its entirety and plan to post two chapters each week. I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think!_

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><p>Booth dropped Brennan and Christine off at the lab. It was had been a typical morning for the new family. They had been woken by the baby half an hour before their clocks were due to alarm. The baby always woke up at five am and they wondered why they even bothered to set an alarm. Brennan had fed Christine while Booth took a shower and then he watched the baby while Brennan showered and dressed for the day. The two adults had bickered throughout breakfast. She was complaining that no human could possibly need to eat that much bacon in one setting. He was arguing that she needed more than just coffee and toast. Even through their arguing, the two worked in tandem. They wordlessly packed the diaper bag, Booth throwing in some granola bars and a banana for Bones to find at some point later in the morning. Brennan knew exactly where to find his lost shoe which avoided a last minute meltdown as they rushed to get out the door and into the DC traffic.<p>

Christine had slept throughout the forty five minute ride to The Jeffersonian, she always did. Brennan closed her eyes as well, the fatigue of having a highly demanding job and an infant catching up with her as she had a while to sit still. Booth didn't have the luxury of a morning nap and he silently considered hiring a chauffeur to take the three of them into the city each morning. The only thing he disliked about their new home in the Maryland countryside was how far away it was from work.

Booth had always been a religious man and he took the quiet drive time as an opportunity to pray. He would thank God for Brennan, Parker and Christine. He would pray for their continued safety and for guidance in keeping his family together and happy. As he finished his prayer, he glanced over at his dozing partner. She was tilted toward the passenger side window, her head resting on the foggy glass. She had let her hair grow since having the baby and Booth loved the look of her long locks.

He smiled as he pulled his eyes away from Brennan and back onto the road. That was until he glanced in his rear view mirror. There was a bright red SUV close behind them in traffic. Normally this wouldn't have garnered a second thought but Booth knew he had seen that same SUV near their home late last night. Bones would tell him that he was just being paranoid but the color of the vehicle was distinct. A dramatic shade of red that you didn't see every day. He calmed himself with the thought that even if it were the same car there was probably a reasonable explanation for its presence in both instances. At the next red light, he made note of the license plate number and jotted it down on an errant piece of paper he found lying in the console of the truck.

By the time Booth was pulling back out into traffic after dropping off his girls at The Jeffersonian he had lost sight of the red SUV. As he continued on his way to the FBI building he forgot all about the weird sightings.

The couple in the SUV, however, did not forget about Booth. They parked on the opposite side of the street from the private entrance that Brennan used to enter the building. A perk of being Dr. Temperance Brennan. They had a full view of Booth getting Christine out of her car seat. They could see her purple coat standing out against the black and grey of her father's suit. The lady in the truck smiled as she watched Seeley hand the baby over to his partner. She watched as he kissed both of them, the baby on her bald head, his partner on her lips. The SUV didn't move away from their spot until they watched Booth pull out, satisfied that his family was safely inside the lab.

"He's happy Hester. That's all you wanted to know. We should leave now."

"He seems happy, but I can't be sure from a distance."

"You promised that you just wanted to see him."

"I just need to make sure. I know he's my son, I would know him anywhere, but I need more proof."

"You can't talk to him Hester. It's too dangerous. What if he recognizes you?"

"It's been over thirty years, he won't recognize me."

"It's too big of a chance, you can't risk it."

"She won't recognize me. I'll talk to her."

"Hester we have to go back now. I promised you that you could see him, but I can't let you do anything else."

"You said we had a two week pass. We've only been gone for a day."

"If a day isn't enough than two weeks won't be either. The longer you stay, the more you see, the more you're going to want to leave The Facility. The Leader won't let you leave forever, no matter how close you are to me. We'll both be in danger. They will be too Hester."

"Just a few more days, George." It was a statement not a question.

Inside of The Facility he could control her but outside in the world, he had no way to make her understand how serious their situation would become if they didn't return.

"Whatever you do Hester, you cannot tell them who you are." 

* * *

><p>Brennan sat at the Royal Diner waiting on her coffee. She was meeting Angela there for lunch. It was nearly three pm and she was thankful for the fruit Booth had hidden in her bag. It was the only thing she had eaten as the time had gotten away from her. Christine fussed in her carrier and Brennan looked in her diaper bag for a toy to occupy the baby. In digging for Christine's favorite stuffed monkey she missed the sound of footsteps approaching their table until the lady was right on top of them.<p>

"Can I help you?" Brennan's motherly instincts caused her to slide closer to the infant as she handed over Monkey.

"No, I'm sorry I was just," the lady stopped and for a moment Brennan thought that she wasn't going to continue, "You have a beautiful child."

"Thank you. If you'll excuse us we were in the middle of lunch." Brennan didn't believe in lying but this woman was making her feel uneasy. Her mannerisms were suspect and the interest she was showing in her daughter was unacceptable.

The woman, who was still smiling down at Christine, also knew it was a lie. The table gave Brennan away. It was empty of any lunch dishes, not even a bottle for the baby. But it wasn't the bare table or the lie that caught the lady's attention; it was the ring on Brennan's left hand.

"Your ring, it's-" she wasn't sure how to bring the subject up. "I've seen it before."

"It was a very popular setting in the late 1940's." Brennan had a sense that something was wrong. Booth would say it was her gut telling her to be careful but she didn't believe in messages from one's intestinal tract. She saw it more as a reasonable reaction to an unusual situation.

"That's probably all it is. Is it an engagement ring?"

"You are very inquisitive. But, yes, it is. It belonged to my fiancé's grandmother. His grandfather wanted me to have it."

"Hank must think you're the one, then."

"Hank? How did you-" the surprise was apparent on Brennan's face when the stranger used Booth's grandfather's name.

"You must have misunderstood. I didn't say Hank, Sweetheart. I said 'he.'"

Brennan and the mystery lady engaged in a drawn out staring contest, both willing the other to blink first. Then Christine whined in her seat and Brennan leaned down to check on her. Handing Monkey back from where he had fallen in the seat beside the baby she looked back up to confront the stranger, but she was gone.

"Sweetie, I brought books," Angela came through the doors of the cafe with a flourish. She had piled at least half a dozen bridal magazines in front of Brennan before she had a chance to speak. Angela noticed the look on her friend's face. "What's wrong?"

"Did you just see a woman leave the cafe? Brown hair, green eyes, about one hundred and sixty centimeters?"

"There were a lot of people leaving; I didn't notice anyone in particular. Why?"

"She was very interested in Christine."

"Babies always draw attention, Sweetie, and this one is very cute." Angela made a face at Christine, who rewarded her with a laugh.

"She was quite focused on my ring as well. I could've sworn she said something about Hank when I said that it was my fiancé's grandmothers."

"That is strange. Maybe you just misheard her?"

"That's what she said too."

"If it makes you feel that strange, you should tell Booth."

"No, he'll just think that I'm being overly suspicious and blame my concern on hormonal surges," Brennan smiled and picked up one of the bridal magazines. "Have you spoken to your friend who owns the beach house?"

The subject now changed, Angela jumped head first into the wedding planning. "Yes, we are all set for the 19th. But you have to pick out bridesmaid's dresses today. If we don't your attendants will be walking down the aisle in their bathing suits."

"I find that I like the blue ones." For a genius, Brennan was no fashionista.

"Blue ones? Really?"

"Ang, it doesn't matter. I don't even need bridesmaids. I just want to marry Booth. These magazines are full of marketing ploys intended to sell more magazines and dresses."

"You may not need bridesmaids but I need to be your maid of honor and I fully intend on doing just that." Angela sighed at her friend's lack of excitement in the wedding planning. "You are taking all the fun out of this for me. I got married in a jail cell, Sweetie. I need this. Let me plan this magical wedding for you and Booth."

"You are planning it Angela. You can plan all you want. I promise that Booth and I will be there. I just am not interested in going to elaborate extremes at this point. I simply want to stand in front of my dad and my brother and our friends and promise Booth that I intend to spend the rest of my life with him."

"You've come a long way from the woman who didn't believe in marriage."

"I never said that I didn't believe in marriage. I said that I didn't have a reason to enter into a legal commitment with someone in an attempt to prove my love for them. But I do now." Brennan glanced down at her daughter. "This is important to Booth and legally it will make things simpler in terms of Christine and Parker."

"I hope your vows are a little more romantic than that."

"Just plan the wedding. Let me know if you need me to sign a check. I do not intend for this to be an event solely funded by the Hodgins' estate," Brennan said.

"I still need an idea of what you want. Colors, music, menu, guest list, minister-" as Angela continued to list at least a hundred decisions that needed to be made, neither woman noticed the dark haired lady still standing outside, watching them through the window as they talked.


	3. The Scare at the Game

_Author's Note:_

_First of all thank you for your very kind reviews and interest in this story. I had said previously that I had the entire story written. That is true. However, I have decided to rewrite the latter half of the story and because of that I may not post as often as I originally intended. But I promise to start posting much more often as soon as I finish rewriting. Thanks again for reading!_

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><p>The following morning the same woman who had observed Brennan and Angela at the diner watched Booth as he dropped his family off and then stopped to put gas in the Sequoia before heading to the FBI building. Hester would've known him anywhere. She didn't need to be told his name to know that he was her son. He still had the same strong chin, the same eyes, the same smile that he'd had the last time she saw him. It had been over thirty years since she had watched him walk out the front door with his father and brother on a rainy Saturday afternoon. It felt like an entire lifetime had passed. She longed to talk to him, to touch him, to prove to herself that he was real. George warned her not to but she needed to make contact with her boy.<p>

She waited outside the building all day. Where else did she have to go? Life on the outside had moved on in the years she had been in The Facility. Cars were different, people were wearing different types of clothing, hairstyles had changed, buildings had grown taller than she remembered them. None of that mattered to her though. She took all those changes in stride, focused only on Seeley.

When he finally emerged from the stone building, some five hours after he had gone in for the day, she felt her breath catch in her throat. Before she realized that she was too close, their eyes locked. He stared at her and she thought that she saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Seeley took a step toward her and she ran. She turned and ran as hard as she could in the other direction. When she finally stopped to look back he was nowhere to be seen. She wondered if he had really seen her at all. Maybe it had just been a figment of her imagination. Her paranoia serving to make her think that he had seen her. Part of her wanted him to know that she was alive. But George's warning wailed in her ears and she couldn't take the chance that her boy would be hurt. Not because of her. Not again.

She had done research into her oldest son's past, under George's watchful eye. She realized that he would have acquired great powers of observation during his days as an Army Ranger and sniper. It made her fearful that he would quickly figure out that she was observing him, no matter how safe a distance she thought she was keeping. She felt safer watching Temperance. Temperance was too busy with the baby to pay close attention to her surroundings.

The next day she hadn't intended to watch them but the gardens of the Jeffersonian were beautiful and she had been drawn there. She had noticed them the mornings that she had watched Seeley arrive here with Temperance. It had been years since she had seen real flowers. Yes, there were flowers and plants at The Facility. They were carefully selected and brought in from the outside, especially at Christmas. But these were real flowers, planted years earlier and allowed to grow in their natural habitat. Hester had taken a tour of the museum, learning more about the advances in society that she had missed during her days hidden away and was now browsing the gardens outside of the Science museum. Maybe she was unconsciously hoping to see Temperance again but her decision to pursue the gardens that day had not been based on a need to watch. But as she rounded the corner from looking at a bed of white roses she had heard a voice. It was the same voice from the day before at the diner.

She stopped in her tracks as she heard the voice sing a song that she used to sing to her boys. It was an old song, a common song and Hester could quickly write it off as a coincidence. She stood still for a long time. She watched Temperance as she sat on a bench, rows of purple irises around her, almost as if they were framing the scene. Temperance swayed back and forth as she sang, her eyes focused only on the baby in her arms. The baby's eyes drifted, half lidded, as she was lolled to sleep by the sound of her mother's voice.

Hester felt a sting of guilt at watching what should have been a private moment between a mother and a daughter. She had begun to leave but when she turned she bumped into another woman. She quickly mumbled an apology and tried to walk away.

"Were you watching them?" Angela remembered the story of the mysterious woman in the cafe and wondered if this were the same lady that Brennan had seen. The one who had been watching Brennan and Christine. She decided that her friend was just being paranoid. This was a sweet, petite, older lady who couldn't possibly pose a risk to anyone, let alone to the baby.

Hester wasn't sure how to answer the lady's question. She had been watching them but it was innocent. Would this woman believe that? Luckily for her, the woman continued without waiting on her to answer.

"They're sweet, aren't they? She always said that she never wanted children but she's pure magic with her."

"Yes, I didn't mean to stare but they are quite a sight. And she has a lovely singing voice." Screwing up her courage, Hester decided to take advantage of the stranger's kindness. "That's Dr. Temperance Brennan, right?"

"Yeah, that's her, have you read her books?" Angela looked forward to telling Brennan that it was simply a fan who had been watching her with her daughter.

That seems like it would work, "Yes, I have. She's quite the excellent writer." It was a lie, works of fiction were not allowed at The Facility, not even to George. But it was a necessary lie, to lessen the suspensions of Temperance's friend. "The little girl, her father is Seeley Booth?"

Maybe Brennan did have a reason to worry. "How did you know that?" There was suspicion written on the woman's face and Hester was afraid that she had gone too far.

"I saw an article about them in a magazine."

Remembering the article and photo-shoot that Booth hadn't wanted to participate in, Angela felt more comfortable talking. It only made sense that she would know who 'the real Andy Ryan was', as the reporter had called Booth. "Yea, that's him. Do you know him?"

"In a way, yes. Thank you, I need to go." Hester patted Angela on the arm and turned to leave, walking quickly toward the exit of the garden. Angela looked after her quizzically and went to sit with Brennan.

"Hey Bren, did you see that lady watching you?"

"No, what lady?"

"She was standing right over there," Angela pointed in the direction that she had came from, "She says she knows Booth."

"It may have been the same lady that I saw yesterday. This is strange Ang."

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, Sweetie. She seemed perfectly nice."

Brennan scrunched up her worried face and debated with herself as to if she needed to tell Booth.

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><p>After the accidental run-in at the Jeffersonian, watching them became like a drug to Hester. She couldn't stop. Once she had told George about the conversation with the lady in the garden, he insisted he go with her on her next outing.<p>

They sat at the very top of the bleachers facing an empty field, watching from a safe distance as a baseball game took place on a field nearby. The sun was beating down on them and the early spring day provided perfect weather for outdoor sports.

"There he is, he's behind first base coaching the players. One of them must be Parker." Hester strained her neck, attempting to figure out which of the identically clad players was her grandson.

"You have to stop this Hester."

"I'm just watching, I won't talk to them again, I promise."

Her smile captivated him and he found it impossible to tell her no. He shook his head, he never should have left The Facility with her. "Just remember Hester. If you talk to him, they'll all be in danger. He cannot know who you are."

They heard a crack as a player's bat came in contact with the ball and sent it flying deep into the outfield. Hester watched as Temperance jumped up in the stands and shouted, cheering for the player. "That has to be Parker," she watched as the boy rounded the bases, siding into home with a flourish. "Just like his dad I see." A smile spread across her face as she watched her grandson who was now standing triumphantly on home plate, wiping the excess grass stains off of his red baseball pants.

As the team gathered on the field, Parker's home run having secured the win for his teammates, Hester stood and walked closer to the fence to get a better look. Unfortunately for her, Temperance was also able to get a better look.

"Booth," his partner's desperate call caused him to break from the chaos on the field and jog over to the fence.

"What's wrong?"

"That lady, the one over there at the fence. She's been watching the game all evening, I think I've seen her before, Booth."

She was worried and that scared him. Brennan did not worry easily. As he took a look at the lady he realized he had seen her before as well, staring at him as he exited the FBI building a few days earlier. Booth took off in a dead sprint toward the couple. He ran as fast as he could but they had gotten a head start, taking off as soon as they realized that Temperance was pointing toward them as she talked to Booth. By the time he made it to the bleachers where they had been sitting, they were gone.

As Booth turned around to walk back toward the field he nearly ran right into Brennan and the baby. "Did you see her?"

"Yeah, I got a good look at her. I think I saw her before too, Bones. I was leaving work and she was standing in the street staring at me."

"She's talked to me Booth."

"What?"

"Tuesday afternoon, at the diner. She complimented Christine."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't sure it was important, I thought I was just being a paranoid new mom," she tilted her head to the side and gave him a worried look. "There's more."

"You've seen her again?"

"Well, no, but Angela did. Yesterday in the gardens, Angela spoke with her. She said she had caught her staring at Christine and me. That day in the diner Booth, she noticed my ring," Brennan held up her hand to indicate which ring she meant. "I think she said something about Hank, but when I called her on it, she said I had misunderstood."

"How would she know who gave you the ring? Who the hell is this woman?"

"And what does she want with us?" Brennan finished his thought for him.

"Dad, Bones," Parker's voice carried toward them as he ran from the field. "Did you see my home run? I won the game for us."

"We sure did, Buddy." Booth high-fived his son but inside he was wondering who else had seen the homer.

"Come on Parker let's go get some celebratory ice cream."

"Awesome Bones, I'll go get my bag."

As Parker hurried toward the dugout to retrieve his gear Booth pulled Brennan into a half hug and spoke softly so that only she could hear him, "Let's not tell him about any of this. Just forget about it for tonight, tomorrow we'll do some digging. We'll find out who this woman is, I won't let her hurt you."

"It's not me I'm worried about," Brennan said with a frown.

Booth took his daughter from Brennan's arms and watched as Parker ran back toward them, "I won't let her hurt them either. I promise."

Booth had always kept his promises to her before but he wondered if he had just made one promise that he couldn't keep.


	4. The Woman in the Sketch

Even though they had promised to forget about the mystery lady and her companion, Booth and Brennan spent a restless night after their encounter on the baseball field. Both kids picked up on their uneasiness. Parker insisted on sleeping on the floor of their bedroom (saying he really just wanted to try out his new sleeping bag). Christine refused to sleep at all. Even the infant could sense that something was wrong with her parents and she wasn't happy. Booth had wanted to hold Bones and reassure her that everything was fine. But with both kids hovering, that task had proven impossible. Booth had already decided that this woman must have malicious intentions. Why else did she and her male companion run when he had approached them?

The next morning they took Parker to school and Booth reminded him that he could use his cell phone if anything unusual happened during the day. Parker nodded his understanding and also promised to go straight home after school. Booth debated on telling Rebecca but decided that it could wait until they had more information. Instead of dropping Brennan and Christine off at the Jeffersonian, Booth went in with them. As Brennan took the baby to get her settled at daycare, Booth went to talk to Cam.

"I need security increased."

"What's going on?" Cam laid aside the file she had been working on and turned to face him.

"Some woman has been stalking us."

"Stalking?" Cam raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"I've seen her outside the FBI building. Bones has seen her at the diner and here, outside in the gardens. She made comments about Christine and last night she showed up at Parker's baseball game."

"Is she someone you know?"

"I've never seen her before, Cam. I tried to talk to her last night but she disappeared."

"I'll alert security. Do you have a description I can give them?"

"Yeah, here," Booth handed her a piece of paper that he and Bones had worked on that morning while Parker was in the shower, detailing everything they had noticed about the woman. "If anyone sees her, detain her. I need to know what she wants with my family."

"Is Brennan taking the baby to daycare?"

"She is but she's going to talk to them and let them know the situation. Bones is pretty freaked out, so she may go get her early."

"I don't blame her."

"Yeah, I think I'll check on them before I go."

"Are you okay Seeley?" It had been a long time since Cam had seen her friend this worked up over a situation.

"No, I'm not okay." Booth turned to look Cam in the eye, not trying to hide his fear and anger. "Someone is following me and my family. And I want to know why."

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><p>"Listen Bones, if you see her at all today, you call me. Okay?" They were standing outside of the daycare watching Christine through the large windows in the front of the center. Both of them were hesitant to leave.<p>

"Do you think she'll be back?"

"I'm hoping that our little run in last night scared her away but I guess it depends on why she was watching us."

"Angela's working on a sketch then she'll enter it into her computer. Maybe we'll find something that way."

"The SUV."

"What?" Brennan asked as Booth's sudden change in topic caught her off guard.

"Sunday night I saw a red SUV outside the house, and Monday morning they followed us into the city."

"And you didn't find it pertinent to inform me of this earlier in the week?"

"I had forgot actually. I wrote it off as nothing but now-" he stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing they had another piece of this puzzle. "I wrote down the plate number." Booth kissed her quickly on the cheek then he took off toward the door, "I'll go run it now. Be careful Bones."

"I will be." She turned to walk back toward the lab but a chill ran through her at the thought of this mysterious lady watching them all week. Cam didn't like babies in the lab but this was different. There was no way Brennan was going to leave Christine alone in daycare today.

* * *

><p>Brennan was examining the remains from their latest case as she balanced a half asleep Christine on her hip when Cam walked onto the platform.<p>

"Seriously? Aren't you afraid that this will cause some really negative formative memories?"

"Perhaps, but I can't bring myself to leave her alone right now. She's a very well behaved baby Cam; she won't be in the way."

Cam bent down to pick up Monkey from the autopsy table, holding him out to show Brennan that the baby was already in the way.

"That table is clean."

"Dr. Brennan, I know that you're upset. I understand that, but you can't have her up here. Either go work in your office or let Angela keep the baby while you continue here."

The ladies turned as they heard the beep of a card being swiped at the lab platform.

"Booth sent over the results of a search on the license plate," Hodgins said as he bounded up the stairs. "Hey, you won't let Michael up here."

"I don't let Christine up here either. Dr. Brennan is just about to go back to her office."

"As soon as you tell me what you found."

"Not much actually, the car is a rental. It was signed out to a George Santora on Sunday morning from a rental counter at Dulles. A search of that name comes up empty."

"Empty?" Cam asked.

"Too empty. The address he provided to the rental company is a fake and the credit card he used appears to be untraceable. Chances are George Santora is an alias."

"That's a lot of trouble to get a rental car." Brennan tightened her grip on the baby who had drifted off to sleep.

"Okay I put the sketch I drew into my computer and came up with this," Angela said as she joined the group. She pushed a few buttons on the hand held controls to the computer and an image of the mystery woman popped onto the screen. "Look familiar?"

The other three occupants of the platform shook their heads at first. Then Brennan walked toward the screen, studying the lady's image closely. "Why didn't I notice this before?"

"Notice what Brennan?"

"This woman, she shares a marked resemblance to Booth. I count at least five genetic similarities."

"She does look a little like Booth now that you mention it," Hodgins agreed.

"Booth's mother died when he was a child, there's no way that's her," Cam said.

"I'm not guessing here, Cam. Genetics do not lie. I'm going to go call Booth." As Brennan left the platform her friends shared a confused look.

* * *

><p>"It's not possible Bones. My mother is dead."<p>

"Do you have any photographs of her?"

"No, Dad said they were all lost when we moved after Mom died. I've never seen a picture of her." He handed the photo back to Brennan. "Any chance it could be her sister? Or a cousin?"

Brennan took another look at the picture in her hands and sighed. "I suppose that's possible Booth but the genetic similarities to you and Jared are very striking. Regardless, even if it is another family member that doesn't answer the question of why she's following us. Why not just introduce herself?"

"I don't know Bones, all I know is that my mother is dead. This isn't her."

"When did she pass away?"

"I was seven, Jared was three. She was killed in a car accident. I was young but I still remember Dad telling us."

"You were seven? That's old enough to remember Booth, does this look like your mom?"

He stared at the photo, shaking his head, "Maybe Bones, but I don't know, it's been too long."

"Maybe we need to show Hank."

* * *

><p>Hank bounced his great-granddaughter on his leg, laughing as she amused herself by blowing little bubbles of spit. "So what's with the unannounced visit in the middle of the week? You two aren't already expecting another baby are you?"<p>

"It would be very irresponsible of us to have another unplanned pregnancy this close after the birth of our first child."

"Didn't stop you the first time."

Brennan smiled. She appreciated Hank's frankness in a way that Booth didn't. He instead chose to cut straight to the point.

"Someone's been following us Pops. We wanted you to look at a picture for us."

"How should I know who's been following the two of you?"

Brennan held out the print out of Angela's computer reconstruction for Hank to see.

"Hand me my glasses." Brennan traded the old man's glasses for her daughter and Booth noticed the flicker of recognition in Hank's eyes as soon as he got a good look at the picture.

"Is it her?"

"It sure looks like her Shrimp, but there's no way. Your mother has been dead for over thirty years."

"Could it be her sister or another relative?" Booth refused to let himself believe that his mother was alive.

"Your mother had a sister, but they didn't resemble one another very much from what I remember."

"Booth, it's her. It has to be. This is the age she'd be now, there are too many genetic similarities to dismiss and Hank remembers her. It has to be her."

"It all makes sense Bones, except that my mother is dead."


	5. The DNA in the Tissue

_Author's Note: Just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who has read/reviewed/alerted and favorited this story. I appreciate all of you. Sorry for the wait and I promise that updates will begin to come much more quickly. Thanks again to someonetookmyname, Rynogeny, and Frankie for all of their help!_

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><p>Booth kept the printout from Angela's computer in front of him as he watched the couple eating lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Arlington. He had been able to trace the rented SUV to the hotel they were staying at and he had been following them all day. He had watched them share a banana split sundae on the National Mall. He had seen them somberly inspect the gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery and he had seen them laughing with one another during hushed conversations as they walked the streets of old DC. As they toured the Lincoln house Booth wondered if his mom was sharing her connection to the slain assassin with her companion. They'd also visited the Vietnam War Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Spy Museum before stopping to eat at Wang's Chinese Bistro.<p>

If Booth hadn't known better he would've thought they were just tourists. But most tourists didn't rent cars under assumed names with fake credit cards or stalk FBI agents. And most of them didn't bear such a striking resemblance to his dead mother. Booth sat in his vehicle and alternated between looking at the photo and watching the couple through the window of the restaurant. He could tell that they were deeply engrossed in conversation.

"I've enjoyed today George, it's been nice getting out into the world."

George glanced over his shoulder nervously. The sounds coming from the other patrons were making him anxious. He wasn't used to crowds and today's activities had brought back memories of his anxiety filled days before The Leader had brought him to live at The Facility. George didn't have to deal with his anxieties there. He wasn't sure if he could deal with them here. He glanced at Hester's smiling face. She was lost in the memories of her boys. He knew that he would have to talk her into going back to The Facility soon otherwise it might take more than simple persuasion to lead her back where they both belonged.

"We have to go back. I'm afraid that your son is starting to get suspicious."

"I know George." Hester put another spoonful of egg drop soup into her mouth. "But it's been nice to see him, to know that he isn't dead. That's why I was brought to The Facility. Now that I know they're okay, why can't I just stay here with them?"

"Because that isn't the way it works Hester. The Leader always keeps exactly one hundred and two inhabitants. He won't allow that number to change. The only reason we got passes is because with both of us gone, he still retains an even number. And I promised him that we'd both be back. I can't function in this world. And I cannot go back there alone. He won't stand for one hundred and one."

"Stay here with me."

George shook his head. "No. This world isn't for us. We belong to The Leader now. He's always been good to you Hester. You cannot deny that." George jumped as a waiter dropped a tray, resulting in an echoing boom, right as he finished speaking.

Hester was startled by the noise as well. Noise inside The Facility was kept to a minimum and she was not used to the loud atmosphere of the busy restaurant. She calmed her nerves by sipping on her water.

"Why did he let me think my sons were dead?" She was finding it hard to reconcile the loving man she felt The Leader to be with someone who could perpetuate such a large and cruel lie.

"Perhaps he didn't know. Your husband may have lied to him as well."

The waiter presented them with the check and asked if they'd be paying with Visa or Discover. George and Hester exchanged confused glances. She spoke first. "You don't take cash here?"

"Of course we do, it's just not very often that anyone offers cash these days." The waiter was finding the odd habits of the couple at table fourteen amusing. He couldn't wait to regale his girlfriend later with the tale of how they demanded he take away the third chair from the table before they would sit.

As their waiter left to get their change, Hester continued their conversation about The Leader. "You are correct, George, that he has been good to me. If it hadn't been for him I never would've survived after I lost my boys. But now I have the chance to get them back. The Leader will understand."

George sighed. He wasn't nearly as optimistic. "He is a very powerful man Hester. What if he doesn't understand?"

Hester refused to let herself answer his question.

Booth watched as the pair finished their dinner and climb into the SUV to drive back toward DC. He parked a few spots over from them in the parking lot of the Marriott where they were staying.

Flashing his badge, he asked the man at the counter for the room number of George Santora. Without missing a beat, the clerk complied. His customers' privacy aside, he didn't want to be mixed up with an FBI investigation.

"Rooms 320 and 328 are both registered in that name sir."

"Do you have a name for the occupant of the other room?"

He never looked up as he clicked on his keyboard, "Hester, she didn't give a last name. I remember these two, kinda strange, they insisted I put them in even numbered rooms. She threw a fit when I assigned her to 321 at first."

Booth barely registered the rest of the information; he had stopped listening when he had heard his mother's first name. It was the last piece of evidence he needed to convince himself that this woman was his mother. He knew that his father was a lying bastard but to hide this from his sons? How could anyone do that to their own children? He had to confront this woman tonight.

He phoned Brennan and told her to eat dinner without him that he'd be home late. She was worried but she understood what he had to do, and she was ready for them to get to the bottom of this.

Booth ate a snack in the common kitchenette of the hotel while he tried to figure out the best way to confront his mother. He debated knocking on her door but he had no way of knowing if she was alone or not, and he didn't want to take the chance of being outnumbered. Booth sat there for hours, earning only occasional glances from the hotel staff. Apparently the clerk who he had spoken with had filled them in on his FBI status.

It was nearly midnight when he finally got his break. He had just gotten off the phone with Brennan when he saw his mother walking down the stairs and toward a vending machine.

"I know who you are," Booth said as he cornered her.

"I don't think you do." Hester wanted to gather her boy in her arms but George's warnings echoed in her mind and faced with her now grown son, she found her faith that The Leader was harmless waned.

"You're my mother."

"No, you're mistaken. I'm not anyone's mother." Since she had first seen him that night through the window of his home she had imagined this moment. But standing here now, she knew that she couldn't tell him the truth. She loved him too much to put him in any more danger.

"Then why are you following me and my family?"

"You must have the wrong person sir."

"I saw you. You and your friend were outside my house, and my office. You told my fiancée that you liked the ring Hank gave her, you played with my daughter. Don't lie to me. I think I've already been lied to enough."

There were tears in her eyes as she spoke, "I'm not lying, I'm not your mother. You need to leave now."

"Tell me why you're watching us."

"I can't. I won't bother you again. I promise. Please, just leave this alone. You don't know what this is."

"That's obvious. I have no idea what the hell is going on here. Why can't you just tell me?"

"If I tell you; we'll all be in danger."

"I thought you were dead."

"I thought you-" she stopped midsentence, catching herself before she said anything else that she shouldn't. "I'm sorry, I wish I had answers for you but I, I'm not who you think I am."

She pushed past him and ran back up the stairs. Booth stood in the hallway now convinced that this woman was his mother but even more confused as to why she was lying to him. Before he turned to leave he noticed a crumpled piece of tissue paper lying in the floor. He wasn't sure if it belonged to the lady who he thought was his mother, but he picked it up anyway.

Hester watched her son from the stairwell of the hotel. Had he chosen to follow her, he would have easily caught up to her. She was glad that he hadn't. She had been in The Facility since before the prevalence of DNA identification and the inhabitants weren't kept up on scientific advances. So when she saw her son pick up the tissue that she had dropped she wondered why he had pocketed her garbage.


	6. The Truth in the Lobby

"He knows George." Hester stormed into the room as soon as he opened the door.

"You spoke with your son?" He said as he moved back to allow her to enter the room.

"He found me. He was downstairs in the lobby. He told me that he knew who I was."

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

"No. I wanted to, but I didn't. He thought I was dead too, George. My husband must've told my boys the same story that he told me. Why? Why did he do this to us?"

"I don't know Hester," George said as he pulled his friend into his arms. He held her as she cried, yearning for all the years lost, grieving for her boys.

"Please, let me tell him. He already knows. He isn't going to stop looking. What more would it hurt now?"

"What if he wants to go to The Facility? What if he wants to punish The Leader for taking you away from him?"

"But The Leader didn't… he didn't know the truth either." Hester hesitated, "at least I don't think that he did."

"Your son is a FBI agent. He isn't going to stand back and just allow you to return in a few days or a few weeks. What will you do then?"

Hester removed herself from his embrace and sunk down on the bed. "I do want to go back George. But, I want to be here too. Are you sure that there isn't a way that I can have both lives?"

"What if he decides to follow us back there or to investigate your initial disappearance? If your son is able to reveal the secrets of The Facility, they will shut it down and arrest The Leader. The outside world isn't going to understand our way of life. You know how much The Facility means to me. You know how much all of us need to be there. You will be hurting your friends, hurting everyone you've known for the past thirty years. I know it's hard but this is the way that it has to be."

"But he already knows that I'm alive, George. If I just leave now he may try to find me anyway. Wouldn't it be better to talk to him, to tell him the truth? He's my son. If I tell him not to try and find me, he won't."

"Hester, you don't know him, you haven't seen him since he was a child."

"That is where you are wrong George. A mother will always know her child."

"I'm afraid that if you spend time with him that you will never want to leave."

"I promise I'll go back with you George. You've seen how uncertain I am of myself in this world. I want to have a relationship with my son, whatever that means for us, but I know that I am no longer able to live outside of The Facility." Hester wasn't sure that she was telling him the truth but she wasn't deliberately lying to him either. At this point she only knew that she needed to speak with her oldest son. She decided to play on the emotions of her friend. "Besides, where is your trust in me?"

"You need to realize how dangerous it could be for your son if he does choose to find The Facility. The Leader is not afraid to use lethal force to protect what is his. And he knows how much there is to lose if the FBI discovers his location."

"I do realize that and that's why I know that he will trust me if I am able to explain the situation to him. What if he discovers all of this on his own and I'm not able to warn him? Please George just let me talk to my son."

He knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. "This is my fault. When The Leader gave us the pass he had no idea that you were going to look for your son. If he had known that, he never would have allowed us to leave. We lied to him. The passes have always been issued on good faith. They are a way for him to show us that we aren't captives. But no one has ever chosen to stay in the world before."

What George didn't tell her was that people had tried to leave The Facility permanently. It was true that everyone who had ever gotten a pass to leave had returned but they hadn't all returned on their own terms. The Inhabitants were captives and the passes were part of the allusion that they had the choice to leave if they wanted. The Leader had trusted George to return with Hester and he had to be careful now not to let his love for this woman get in the way of his obligation to The Leader.

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><p>Hester knew that George was right, everything he had said to her the night before had made sense though her need to talk to her child was outweighing her loyalty to him and The Leader. She convinced George to stay a few more days. She was well aware of his love for her and she intended to use it to her advantage. But she knew that eventually he would return to The Facility with or without her. She planned to spend as much time as possible with her son until that day came.<p>

The following morning she went downstairs for breakfast, hoping that Seeley was still there waiting on her. She looked around the room, disappointed when he wasn't there.

"Looking for someone?"

Walking with her head down because she was afraid to make eye contact with anyone, she hadn't even noticed her son's partner standing next to the fireplace.

"My friend, I thought he'd be here," she lied. Hester looked somewhere over Brennan's left shoulder as she spoke.

"Why didn't you tell Booth the truth last night?"

"I can't talk to you."

"Well then you're going to listen." Brennan looked around the small room, aside from her and Hester only one other guest remained. "Sit down."

They picked a table away from the other patron and Brennan began to tell Hester everything that they knew. "You've been following me and Christine. I know that you said Hank's name when you saw my ring. I didn't mishear you. Genetically you bare several markers that make you his mother. You share the same orbital rims, identical mental protuberances, and similar nasal ridges. You're a first degree relative."

"How can you know all that?"

"It's what I do." When Hester didn't respond Brennan hit her with the most damning piece of evidence. "You dropped your tissue last night. We ran a DNA profile on the contents against Booth's. You can deny that you look alike but you cannot deny DNA."

"DNA? I read about that."

"Excuse me? Don't act like you don't know what I mean."

"But I don't. Temperance, where I've been, we're not allowed access to television or books. They control every piece of information that we are given. They keep our lives very simple." Hester felt as if a weight were being lifted off her shoulders as she began to tell her story. Any notion that she should stop talking went away as Temperance began to ask her more questions.

"How did you find us then? How do you know my name?"

"I made friends with someone who had access to magazines. He let me read. I love to read. I came across an article about you and my son. And my grandchildren," Hester smiled.

"How did you get out?"

"The friend I made, he convinced them to give me a pass. But I wasn't supposed to talk to Seeley. I was only allowed to see him. I thought he was dead."

"You did? Booth thought you were dead."

"Edwin must have lied to all of us. He came home one night, after taking the boys to visit Hank and Clara. He had blood on his face and a black eye. He told me there had been a horrible car accident. He said that my boys were gone. I demanded to see them for myself but he said there wasn't anything left to see, that there had been a fire. I accused him of killing my babies. I was mad at him because he was alive and they were dead."

Brennan listened intently, handing Hester a tissue when she started to cry.

"I went into fits. I hit Edwin, over and over again. I couldn't stop. I remember him saying I was having a breakdown, there was a doctor there. I have no idea where he came from; it was like he just appeared out of thin air. But I was so upset it didn't matter. He gave me an injection. The next thing I knew I woke up in The Facility."

"The Facility?" Brennan scrunched up her nose in confusion.

"That's all they ever call it. I didn't even know what state we were in until George and I flew here last week. I couldn't get back there without his help."

"Do they harm you there?"

"It's isolating, but The Leader, that's what we call him, says it's for our own good. For the first two years I was almost catatonic with grief and the other ladies took care of me. They were all there because of tragedies in their own lives. It was exactly the environment that I need to be in. They essentially healed me. They made it possible for me to function, at least within their world."

"What do you do there?"

"I have my own room, a pad for writing, we play games, have conversations with other inhabitants. I've formed friendships there deeper than would ever be possible in the real world. We grow all of our own food. We sew and mend our own clothing. The men make our furniture and do the upkeep on the building. We are all responsible for our own tasks. My job is in the kitchen, I help to prepare the meals each day."

Brennan's genius brain was having trouble accepting and understanding all the information Hester was giving her but she continued to question her. "Who is the man you're traveling with?"

"George, he's a tier three inhabitant. They're allowed to help with business matters and to leave The Facility at times. But they have to return. I'm only a tier one inhabitant; we are kept to the strictest levels of controls unless we are in the presence of higher level members. George told me that Seeley would be in grave danger if he found out who I was. That's why I lied to him last night."

"Maybe you should let Booth decide what he wants to know. He's been in danger before, he can handle himself."

"This is a different kind of danger Temperance."

"It should still be Booth's decision. Please, come with me and talk to your son. What your husband did to you is unspeakable. You both deserve to get back what you thought you'd lost."

"I want to, Temperance, but George says-"

"Don't worry about that. Booth is very good at protecting the ones he loves. He had a difficult childhood and he deserves to get to know you now."

"Did Edwin mistreat my boys?"

"He beat them."

Hester gasped at her bluntness. "He used to hit me. He never touched the boys though."

"I guess with you gone there was a void that he needed to fill."

"I thought they were dead or I wouldn't have left. You have to believe me when I say that," Hester pleaded.

"I do." Brennan smiled. She was quickly forming a bond with the scared, seemingly broken woman who was sitting in front of her. "Hank ended up raising the boys."

"Hank was a good man."

"Yes, and he raised two good men. And you deserve to get to know them. What happened to the three of you isn't fair."

"Is Jared here in DC as well?"

"No, he lives in Ohio now, with his wife. The boys don't talk to each other often, they don't really get along."

"I guess that some things don't change."

"We can help you contact Jared if you'd like."

Hester studied Brennan's words carefully. She wasn't sure that she wanted to put her other child in danger as well. Not until she knew more about what might happen to them because of their knowledge. "What about Edwin?"

"He passed away while I was pregnant with Christine. It's been almost a year now."

"What happened?"

"Liver failure."

"That makes sense. Did Seeley attend the funeral?"

"He didn't. But he received closure in his own way."

Hester nodded. It seemed Seeley hadn't changed much from the wise beyond his years little boy that she remembered. The little boy who had tried to protect her from her husband. The little boy who always seemed to carry the worries of the world on his small shoulders. Realizing that her absence from his life had only added to his pain she decided that she couldn't keep herself from him any longer.

"Take me to see my son, Temperance?"

"No," George appeared from the shadows. "You can't, you've already said too much Hester."

"I think you need to let Booth decide what he wants to know. What are you so afraid of?" Brennan turned her attention to the man who had appeared in front of them.

"You don't know who you're messing with Dr. Brennan."

Brennan locked gazes with George. He tried to return her stare in an effort to intimidate her but his anxiety got the better of him and he looked away first. George wasn't used to strong women and he didn't know who he was dealing with in Temperance Brennan. He shook his head as he left them alone. If these two women refused to listen to him then he wouldn't stand in their way.

He called The Leader and asked for more time, their two week pass was nearly up. George was fairly confident he could stall for another two weeks but after that he wasn't sure. All he knew for certain is that they had to return before The Leader decided to persuade them to come back.


	7. The Dead End in the Search

_**Author's Note: Thanks again to all those we are reading this story, it really has become something special to me and I hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it. I appreciate each alert and review very much. Look for this story to be updated around the first of each week (hopefully each Monday, as my "real life" commitments allow). There are twenty chapters in total. **_

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><p>Booth hadn't been happy when Bones had told him about the conversation she had with his mother. They had made their dinner in silence. Booth rolled out the pasta dough while Brennan cut it into shape and put it on to boil. He made Hank's signature tomato sauce. She put the garlic bread in the oven.<p>

Every time she started to talk about his mom, he changed the subject.

"We have to pick Parker up tomorrow after school. It's our Wednesday."

"I know. Booth-" before she could finish the timer sounded, signaling that the bread was finished.

"I'll get it, a proper pasta dinner is not complete without garlic bread," he said.

Christine wailed and Brennan noticed that she had dropped Monkey. She handed the stuffed toy back to her daughter. She couldn't believe her own progeny had such an attachment to a blue monkey. She feared it might take years to teach her daughter that monkeys were not supposed to be blue. Brennan foresaw many educational trips to the zoo in their future.

"Here you go." Booth filled Brennan's plate with spaghetti and bread before walking over to sit down in front of his own plate. He used a quick hand to keep Monkey from being slung across the room again.

"You need to talk to her, Booth."

"It's just a phase. She'll eventually stop slinging Monkey just to watch us pick him up again."

Brennan raised her eyebrows at his sarcasm. "You know what I meant."

"No," he said as he took another bite of his spaghetti.

"Yes, you do."

"Yes, I know what you meant but no, I'm not going to talk to her. Just forget it."

"I wish I could," Brennan said in the general direction of her plate of noodles.

"You did talk to her Bones."

"That's not what I meant." Brennan looked up from her food and made eye contact with him as she spoke louder. "I wish I could talk to my mom. I wish she could meet Christine. Meet you and Parker. I regret every day that I'll never get to see or talk to her again. You have that chance and you're passing it up. I find that it makes me angry at you."

Booth almost bought into the lost little girl look that she had on her face. But then his resolve returned. "The atheist cannot play the Catholic guilt card. Sorry, babe."

"I don't know what that means."

"It means I don't want to talk to her Bones, and I don't want to talk _about_ her either."

"You wanted to know if she was your mother before."

"I just wanted to know why she was following us. That's not normal; she could've just told us who she was."

"She couldn't Booth. She was afraid to. I told you what she said; she thought you were dead. Just listen to her story. If you don't soon then George will take her back and you'll miss your chance. I know you and you will always regret not talking to your mom."

"Take her back where? And quit talking about this George like you know him."

"To the place, she doesn't know where it is, but it's where she lives."

"She lied Bones, she lied by never telling me the truth."

"Your father was the liar Booth. She was as much a victim in this as you and Jared were."

Booth laid his fork down as he found himself locked in Brennan's gaze. As much as he'd fought it, her pleading eyes had won. "I don't understand. Was she a hostage there? If she wasn't then why didn't she just leave?"

"I think she was a hostage Booth. She didn't think that she had any reason not to stay there. And I also think that she is very intimidated by The Leader."

"But earlier you said she was grateful to The Leader? So which is it Bones?"

"I'm not sure she knows. She's been brain washed Booth. But she knows that she wants a relationship with you now. Please, just talk to her. You will never forgive yourself if you let her leave without having a conversation with her."

Booth chewed his lower lip; this entire situation was confusing for him. "I want to know who George is. Did he kidnap her? Does she want us to rescue her?"

"I find him to be pleasant enough and your mother doesn't seem fearful of him. We were alone when I first spoke with her. And you saw her alone in the hotel as well. If she were trying to get away from him, she could have."

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><p>After dinner Booth and Brennan sat on their couch. He held a laptop, she held the baby. The baby held Monkey. They quickly learned that it was going to be harder than googling "mysterious, cult-like secret facility," to learn where his mother had been held. They exchanged glances as the search produced less than desirable results. Brennan spoke first. "We should have known that wasn't going to work."<p>

"It was worth a shot. I'll access the Bureau's databases."

"Why didn't we do that first?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders. Truth was he had no idea where to start. As he entered his government ID and password he wished they had more information to enter into the search fields. They were both pleasantly surprised when their search turned up a list of seventeen different associations. Each was suspected of underground activities. After careful examination, none stood out as a candidate for The Facility.

"I'll print the list; we can look into these more tomorrow."

"Do you think you can get anyone at the Bureau to help?"

"I'd like to keep this quiet but I have a few people I can trust."

Brennan bounced Christine on her knee, the baby squealing with delight as her mother made silly noises at her. Booth smiled as he continued looking through the FBI databases. Searches for "The Leader" and George Santora came up empty. "It's obvious Santora isn't his real name and he hasn't used it for an alias before either. Or if he has then he didn't use it for any illegal activity that got the attention of officials."

"Having the name of The Leader would be beneficial."

The sincere look on her face while she stated the obvious would've made Booth laugh if he weren't so nervous. Finding himself at a loss for anything else to enter into his search he took a new direction. As the image of his mother's death certificate appeared on the screen Booth exclaimed, "Bingo baby."

Brennan looked from Booth to the screen and back again, puzzled as to what he thought was such an important clue. "It says your mother died of natural causes, I'm not sure what is making you this excited."

"Mom told you that a doctor gave her an injection? The night that she thought me and Jared were killed?"

"Oh, yes, she did. Do you think that it's the same doctor who helped forge the death certificate?"

Booth nodded as he trained his attention on the physician's name scrawled along the bottom of the certificate as a witness to her death, writing it down with plans to interview the man the next day. This victory was short lived though as a search of the man's name turned up that he had died himself just days after Hester's funeral.

"Do you think The Leader killed him?" Brennan asked with a frown.

"Or had him killed. Absolutely. What they hell are we dealing with here Bones?"

"Why do you think this man wanted your mom? How did he know her?"

"Maybe Dad offered her up."

"Is there a way to see if your father received a large sum of money around the time of your mother's disappearance?"

"Maybe. But not here, I'll have to call in a favor in the morning." Booth logged out of the FBI secure databases and shut the lid on the laptop, laying it on the coffee table as he pulled Brennan to his side. "This doesn't seem real."

"But it is real, Booth."

"I meant metaphorically, Bones. It isn't often that people return from the dead."

"But she didn't. She wasn't ever actually dead Booth." She caught him staring at her and realized what she was saying. "Oh, you're still being metaphorical."

He nodded, "I'm having a hard time accepting that she's here now."

Brennan rubbed his knee in an attempt to comfort him, "I suspect that those feelings are perfectly normal."

"There's nothing normal about any of this."

As Booth leaned in to kiss her he was rewarded by a smack in the face from Monkey. "Hey!" He made a show of acting injured which elicited laughter from both his girls. He mocked shock at their reactions, rubbing his nose before adding, "It's a good thing the two of you are so cute."

* * *

><p>They agreed to meet on Thursday afternoon. Booth didn't want Parker involved so he waited until after he had gone back to Rebecca's. He had enlisted the help of a couple other agents but so far they hadn't made any progress in determining how his father had initially made contact with The Leader. Booth made plans to meet his mother at four pm at the Capital Grind. It had rained earlier in the day and Booth used a paper towel to dry seats for both of them. He had come to the coffee cart alone. He hoped that she would as well.<p>

"Seeley."

"Hi." He chewed on the word mom but in the end couldn't bring himself to say it. "Sit down. I see you brought your friend."

"I don't like leaving the hotel alone. It makes me very uneasy. The outside world has changed tremendously since I left it. Besides, George wants to make sure that I don't say anything to you that isn't safe for you to hear."

"What isn't safe? I don't understand."

"The place I've been, it's very secretive. If they find out that we've told outsiders anything, they'll be upset. They go to great lengths to keep their secrets."

Booth recalled the hours he and Brennan had spent on Monday evening searching for information. Secret was a very good word for The Facility. "You think they'd hurt me or my family?"

"It's possible," George interjected.

"Then I don't think I want to talk to you."

"They don't know that we're talking Seeley. They only know what George tells them, and he promised not to tell them anything."

"We can trust him?"

"I have formed a bond with your mother. I will make sure that she isn't harmed. But we don't have forever. They will begin to doubt me and look into the situation themselves if we don't return soon."

"How long do we have?"

"That's hard to say. But you don't want to waste any time. I'm going to leave the two of you alone for a while. Remember Hester; be careful with what information you share." He walked away, still keeping them within viewing distance, while giving them some privacy.

Booth's natural instinct was to demand to know exactly what secrets George didn't want his mother to tell him. Instead he swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat while watching his mother take orders from this stranger. He realized that it was going to take a lot of work to earn her trust and the best way to start was to at least pretend to play by her rules.

"Let me go get you a coffee," Booth said breaking the tension and earning a smile from his mother.

* * *

><p>"Are you still with 44?"<p>

"Yes, we're having a cup of coffee." George had never lied to The Leader before and he silently cursed the man's sense of timing.

"She hasn't made contact with anyone from her old life, has she?"

"She had seen her son and grandchildren from a distance only. I told her of the importance of not speaking with them and she is compliant."

"I'm always fearful during these field trips. If she does make contact with her family she may became so focused on them that she may not want to return to us."

"The Inhabitants have always chosen to return with me in the past."

"Yes, I remember. But this one is wily, she may want to escape. You have the proper resources with you in case she tries to run, correct?"

George instinctively let his hand slide to the 38 magnum on his side, "Yes sir."


	8. The Conversation at the Coffee Cart

"I got it black, hope that's okay." Booth handed his mother her coffee and she nodded her thanks. "Bones says that I need to talk to you."

"You must have a lot of questions." Hester kept her head down, unable to face her son as they spoke.

"Why did you leave us?"

"Not going to waste time I see."

"Haven't we already wasted enough?"

"Yes, I suppose we have." Hester took a deep breath in, held it for a moment, and then as she exhaled she felt as if she told him the entire story before she inhaled again. "Your father took you and Jared to visit your grandparents on a Saturday morning. It was in August. He was gone for nearly the entire day. That wasn't unusual. I had asked to go with him, I always loved Hank and Clara, but he told me that I needed to stay home. He left me a list of chores. He used to do that a lot."

"Dad was an asshole."

"Temperance told me how he treated you after I left. Seeley, he never hit you while I was there. I would've taken my boys and ran, but he never hit either of you. He always just hit me."

"I don't blame you for that."

For the first time since he had sat down at the table with her, his declaration enabled her to meet his eyes.

"I still remember the three of you walking out the door. Jared had sulked away with his head held down, he didn't even tell me goodbye. He had wanted to watch Butch Cassidy that morning and was mad when your father said you were going to visit your grandparents instead. But you hesitated in leaving; you gave me a hug and told me that you wanted me to go with you. I can still remember the way you felt in my arms. Then your father yelled at you to quit being a sissy. You held your head up high when you walked out that door with him. You never wanted to let your father see you hurting. You were always such a big boy. I wish I could've protected you from him."

"You did the best you could, Mom."

"No, I didn't. If I were a stronger person I would've left him the first time he raised his hand to me and I would have never let him speak to you and Jared the way that he did. I think that's why I like The Facility. A lot of my friends there came from homes where they were being mistreated. When they arrive I help them. I tell them that they're free now. I feel like I'm able to save them in a way that I wasn't able to save myself or my children."

Booth watched as tears dripped down his mother's face. He wasn't sure what to say or do. He decided on encouraging her to continue the story. "What did Dad say happened to us?"

"Late that night Edwin came home alone. His face was bloody, bruised; he told me that there had been an accident. When I asked about my boys he started crying. He said you had both been killed. At first I thought he was lying, my boys couldn't be gone. I tried to call Hank, to ask him. But Edwin wouldn't let me. He ripped the phone from my hand and threw it against the wall. Then he grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. He kept yelling, 'They're dead, they're both dead.'"

Booth could see that his mother's hands were shaking as she told her story and he reached over to place his hand on top of hers. She smiled at his action.

"Your father gave me some tea to drink. I remember feeling dizzy and I must have blacked out. When I woke up there was a doctor there. Or at least your father said that he was a doctor. They both told me that I was having a nervous breakdown. The doctor gave me some sort of injection. He said it was supposed to calm me. And I guess it did. I don't remember anything else until later after I was in The Facility."

"What happened then? Why didn't you try to leave?"

"Because I was safe. The first memory I have is of a group of women caring for me. They were washing my face with cool cloths and bringing me water to drink. I hadn't felt that loved or cared for since I was a little girl. And besides, what did I have to live for on the outside?"

"Bones said you were afraid that by talking to us that The Leader would become upset. Who is The Leader? We can't find any information on him."

"I don't know his name; we've always just called him The Leader. He's old now but back then he was powerful, vital, strong."

"He had you drugged and kidnapped and you talk about him as if he's some sort of hero." Booth looked at his mom, disbelief written on his face.

"To me he was. When I asked if I had been drugged the other ladies said that I had blacked out due to the grief. I asked about a funeral and was told that I had slept through it. Your father was violent. If I stayed there then he would have killed me. Without you and Jared, I didn't have a reason to live. The Leader doesn't take people against their will, usually, but at that point, I didn't have any will left. I was relieved that I had a place to live and people that cared about me. It had been so long since anyone had really cared about me."

"Dad came to Pop's; he told us you were dead. We even had a funeral. How did he manage to do that Mom? Did he have a body? I don't understand any of this."

"I wish I had those answers Seeley, but I just don't know."

"You weren't at all suspicious of The Leader or his motives? You had to realize that your situation wasn't normal."

"He told me that he had found me walking aimlessly. I didn't have any reason not to believe him. The people I was meeting, they were all telling me stories of how The Leader had rescued them. Nothing I knew made me think that the same wasn't true for me."

"The Facility is some sort of cult, Mom. Do you worship The Leader? Does he make you do things that you don't want to do?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by cult, but I don't worship The Leader. None of us do. And he doesn't make us do anything. He's given us a home when we didn't have one. He's given us food when we didn't have any. He's given us friends when our families have abandoned us. I've never seen anyone hurt or mistreated at The Facility."

"What about now that you know you were lied to? Don't you think that he has lied to all of you?"

"I have thought of that since we've been on the outside. It seems that now I find myself quite confused. It's hard to reconcile that the truth I've lived with for the past thirty years has all been a lie."

Booth placed his hands back around his coffee cup. "I understand that," he said softly.

Hester leaned back as well, casting a glance toward George, who was still sitting on a bench a few feet away. "I know you do. Perhaps that understanding is the thread we can begin to rebuild our lives on."

Booth nodded but he still wasn't ready to just accept his mother's explanation of The Facility. "I wish I could to talk to Dad. Get some answers from him. I knew he was a bastard but this, I still can't believe this."

"Temperance said that he passed away recently."

"Yeah, last year." Booth took a drink of his coffee before asking, "Who is George? Are you sleeping with him?"

"Sometimes, yes. But our relationship is more than that. George is my best friend. We talk about everything. No one else knows as many details of my life before The Facility as he does. And he has been very supportive of my need to reconnect with you. The Leader trusts George, he allows him and a few select others the freedom to move about in the world. To find new people that need to be brought in. George has used that trust to help me."

"I can't wrap my mind around this Mom. You're really here," Booth said as tears started to form in his eyes.

"That's how I felt when I saw your picture in that magazine, posing with Temperance and your children. I knew before I even saw the name that I was looking into the eyes of my baby. My grown up baby with his beautiful family. Oh, Seeley, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

She broke down in sobs and Booth walked around the table and took her into his arms. "It's okay Mom, you're here now, and it'll be okay."

"But you don't understand. I have to go back. We won't be able to stay in contact, they won't let us."

Booth pulled back to look his mother in the face, "But you said that George had the trust of The Leader."

"He does but if we don't return soon then he'll lose that trust. I belong to them Seeley, I'm not even sure that I can survive in this world."

"Mom, I-"

"I know it's hard, I probably shouldn't have even come."

"We'll figure this out. Somehow. We have resources with the FBI, and money won't be an issue."

Hester laughed, "Oh sweet boy, I wish it were that easy."

"Stay. Please, just for a while. I, I'm getting married soon. Just stay for my wedding. Please, meet my son. Spend some time with Bones and Christine. You're going to love them as much as I do."

"I'll talk to George. I think we can arrange a little more time. But I'll have to leave after the wedding. The Leader will get upset if we keep asking for extensions. Eventually he'll begin to say no or he'll send someone to find us."

"Will you come home with me for a while?"

* * *

><p>For the first time in over thirty five years Booth was able to enjoy a meal cooked by his mother. She had always been a wonderful cook and as he ate her baked lasagna it were as if he were six years old again. By the time dinner was over it was late. Booth settled his Mom and George into their rooms and went to join Brennan in theirs.<p>

"Did your mom like her room?"

"Yeah, she wanted the room with the blue walls."

Booth climbed into bed next to Brennan, who was just finishing nursing the baby. As she settled Christine beside of her, Booth slid down to wrap his arms around them both.

"I'm glad she's here Booth. I'm glad that you're getting to know her."

"She wouldn't be here if you hadn't made me go talk to her. Thank you."

"You should listen to me more often."

Booth glanced around Brennan to take a peek at the baby, wondering if his father felt the same love for him that he felt when he looked at his children. The answer depressed him. "How could he do this to us Bones?"

"I don't know. Parents sometimes do terrible things to their children."

They shared a sad smile. Booth knew that she spoke from her own experience and he rubbed her upper arm with his thumb as he spoke. "We've missed so much time but she says she has to go back."

"George says we'll all be in danger if she doesn't."

"Yeah, we need to find out more about this leader and what kind of trouble he's capable of."

Christine interrupted their conversation with a loud yawn. "I think someone is trying to tell us to be quiet and go to sleep."

"I think she's right." Booth rested his head on her shoulder before adding, "You think there's any chance The Leader won't bother looking for them?"

"This man has been holding them and dozens of others hostage for over thirty years Booth. How many cult leaders have you heard of that simply let people escape?"

"But Mom says that it isn't a cult."

"Then what is it?" Brennan scrunched up her nose as she turned to face him.

"I have no idea." Booth could sense her uneasiness with the situation. "Look. I promise you Bones, no one is going to hurt you or Christine. I won't let them."

Brennan relaxed and snuggled into him, placing a kiss on his arm as he snaked it around her waist. "You know that I trust you."

Booth stayed awake long into the night thinking about his mother and this mysterious place she had been living. He held his family in his arms and prayed that Brennan's trust in him wasn't misguided.


	9. The Georges on the List

_**Author's Note: Again thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing. The attention some of you are paying to detail is really making me smile (and keeping me on my toes!) Keep the questions coming I love hearing your theories on what exactly is going on here. And a very special thanks to someonetookmyname for the always quick and efficient Beta job, (and the occasional pep talk) you are awesome girl!**_

* * *

><p>Hodgins sat perched on the edge of Brennan's desk. She and Booth had decided to bring him in on their search for The Facility. Since Booth's mother had entered their lives in an inexplicable way they hadn't been able to think of much else. Not even Hodgins, who considered himself a master of all secret societies and conspiracy theories, had ever heard of this place. And so far, even with his help, they had come up empty. It was as if there was an information blackout in place.<p>

The day before, Hodgins had traveled to Philadelphia to the funeral home that Hank said had handled Hester's arrangements. He was hoping to find information about who had prepared the body and where she was buried. Instead he had found that the funeral home had burned to the ground less than a year after Hester's supposed death.

"There's still a grave though. I found her headstone. It wouldn't be difficult to get an exhumation order under the circumstances."

Brennan considered his words for a minute before shaking her head. "Booth wants us to keep our search on the low down, and digging up his mother's grave would certainly cause unwanted attention."

"I think you mean down low."

"Does it matter?" Brennan said, her voice gruffer than she intended.

"Hey Dr. B, I'm only trying to help." Hodgins held up his hands in mock surrender.

"I apologize Dr. Hodgins. This situation is becoming very stressful for me. Booth's mother is insistent that she cannot stay with us forever. But if I can figure out what secret force has been holding her captive, we can have The Facility shut down and Hester will be able to enjoy a normal life with her family. Booth is very happy with his mother here and it isn't right that he should have to forfeit that happiness for what may very well be nothing more than a cult. I want to be able to arrange it so that he doesn't have to."

Hodgins could sense how emotional Brennan was and took a deep breath before he continued. "Okay, then if we can't exhume the body where do you think we should go from here?"

"I was thinking perhaps we should focus our efforts on George. He has obviously been with The Leader for a very long time, perhaps since the inception of The Facility. If we can find out his given name and where he came from, that may bring us closer to finding the identity of The Leader."

"George is staying at your house, right?"

"Yes, why?" Brennan perked up as she sensed Hodgins was on to something.

"Then it shouldn't be hard for you to get his DNA."

"There's only a slim chance that we will find anything in the system with which to match his DNA. He hasn't lived under his true identity in nearly forty years."

"There's still a chance though."

Brennan smiled as she continued to type; somewhat reassured that Hodgins still had hope. "I'll steal his toothbrush in the morning."

"So what are you doing now?" He leaned over to get a closer look at her computer screen.

"I just entered his alias into the FBI database. There seem to be quite a few George Santoras in the world."

"A few?" Hodgins questioned as he looked at the list of over two hundred names that had appeared on her screen.

"I can narrow it down by nationality but I'm afraid that's as far as I can go."

"Print the list, we'll split it up and see what it gets us."

"Thank you." Brennan hit the print screen key as Hodgins walked to the printer to retrieve their list.

"So what's Booth up to today? Still hanging out with his mom?"

"Yes, he had to go into the office for a while this morning but then they're spending the day together. They were just planning on staying at the house and going through the items that Booth's father left him. His mother prefers not to go around large amounts of people if she can avoid it. She says she has had enough of that since they've been traveling. Besides she insists on taking George with her if they go into public and Booth would prefer to avoid as much contact with George as he possibly can. At the house, George is content to stay in the guestroom and allow Hester some privacy with us. Though I suspect she tells him everything we discuss."

"I kind of thought Booth would want to help us dig a little more into Hester's past."

"We decided that I would do most of the investigating while he focuses on forming a bond with his mother. He thinks that given enough time, she will begin to lower her walls and that he might be able to convince her to tell us what we need to know to free her."

"Sounds like you two have a pretty good plan going."

"I'm only afraid that we're working on the false assumption that Hester desires to be freed."

Hodgins patted her on the shoulder while he handed her half of the list. "Keep the faith Dr. B. As Booth always says, 'family is everything.' And we both know that he didn't get that philosophy from his father."

* * *

><p>"Here they are," Angela said as she swept into Brennan's office, her arms full of dresses. It was exactly one week and four days before the wedding. The dresses Angela had ordered had barely made it there on time and she still had one very important dress yet to order.<p>

Brennan barely looked up from her computer screen. She was cross referencing the names on the list Hodgins had given her with a list of missing persons from the years immediately preceding Hester's disappearance. She hadn't moved from her chair in nearly four hours and Angela's voice wasn't even registering in her mind as she continued to track yet one more George Santora to somewhere other than her guest room.

Angela laid the dresses across the back of the couch and continued talking, "I got two of these, one for me and one for Cam, and you said you wanted to keep the ceremony simple. I thought maybe I could carry Michael and Cam could carry Christine. I got this," she held up a tiny version of the bridesmaid dress for Brennan to see, "for the baby and this adorable little black tux with a blue cummerbund for Michael."

Brennan only glanced up when she heard her daughter's name. She nodded her approval of the dresses and remerged herself in the computer.

"Okay, so yeah, here are the blue things you wanted," Angela said as she sat down on the couch.

"Blue is fine Angela."

Angela tried to get to the source of her friend's preoccupation. "How are things going with Booth's mom?"

"It's going very well."

"Then why are you so distracted?"

"I'm not. I don't care about the dresses, I'm sorry. I just want to make sure that Booth gets to keep his mom."

"She still plans on leaving after the wedding?"

"She says she has to but if I can find out the truth about where she's been then I think we can stop them from taking her back. Booth is so happy right now Ang. I want to help him be happy."

"I know one way you can help him be happy."

"Angela, Booth doesn't appreciate it when I discuss our sex life with you."

"That's not what I meant." Angela took Brennan by the hand and lifted her out of her chair. She called for Cam to join them and handed Brennan a bridal magazine. "Pick a dress for yourself. Now. This wedding will make Booth happy."

"You needed me Angela?" Cam asked as she entered the room.

"Our dresses for the wedding are here. And we're not letting Brennan leave this room until she picks one out for herself."

Cam held the light colored dress against her frame and declared that it would probably fit. "Oh, is this little dress for Christine?"

"Whom else would it be for?" Brennan asked.

Cam and Angela exchanged glances. "You have to pick out a dress Dr. Brennan."

"Anything that isn't white. White is a sign of virginity and there is proof incarnate in the form of my daughter that I no longer possess that particular quality."

"You know what, it's too late to order a dress anyway; it wouldn't get here in time for the ceremony." A look of delight crossed Angela's features as the solution that to particular problem dawned on her. "Which means that we'll just have to go out and buy one at a boutique in town."

"No, Ang, not today."

"Yes, Brennan, today. Let's go."

"I can't just leave my child here in daycare all evening."

Angela shoved a cell phone into her hand, "Call her father and tell him to pick her up. And let him know that you're going to be home late. Studley should not wait up."

* * *

><p>It was nearly ten before Brennan was finally able to free herself from the clutches of her friends. Once they were at the store Cam had also gotten in on the wedding dress frenzy, which in turn forced Brennan to take an active role in order to maintain some sense of control over her own fashion choices. Decisions that became of increasing importance to her with each unflattering dress her friends picked for her to try. Despite her best efforts to play apathetic, she found herself sucked into their world of fabric and lace and frills.<p>

When she arrived home: wedding dress, shoes and other accessories in hand, Booth and his mother were sitting at the kitchen table. Laughing. The box that his father had left him, filled with pictures and mementos, lay between them. Brennan smiled, for a moment wondering if she should interrupt their time together. But Booth saw her before she could decide.

"Hey Bones, the girls kept you out late, huh?"

"Yes, I am sorry. Did Christine have any difficulty in accepting the bottled breast milk?"

"The baby was fine," Booth said as he walked over to help her with her bags.

She handed him the shoe bag and the bags of hosiery and jewelry but kept him from taking the dress from her. "Angela assures me that it is bad luck for you to see my dress before the ceremony. I informed her that I do not believe in luck and she threatened to take the dress home with her. As I was afraid she would alter my dress to more properly suit her own tastes I pinky swore that I would not allow you to see it."

"You pinky swore?"

"Well I was told that was the ritual in which I was participating; I actually have no knowledge of what type of vow we exchanged."

"Are you hungry Temperance?" Hester called from where she standing by the stove.

"Mom made homemade vegetable soup."

"No thank you, the girls allowed me a short break to eat dinner. Is Christine already asleep?" Booth and Brennan walked back to join his mom as they spoke. She had sat back down at the table, placing a large bowl of the soup in front of Booth's chair.

He thanked his mother with a nod as he responded to Brennan. "Yeah, she was a little cranky at first because you weren't home but Mom sang her this song that she wrote and after that she was out like a light."

"You wrote a song for her?" The excitement that radiated from Booth as he spoke of their evening made Brennan smile.

"Just a little jingle really. I used to make them up for the boys all the time. Seeley loved them. Jared never did, they just seemed to make him more upset. He'd cry louder and louder until I finally just gave up."

"Have you contacted Jared yet?" Brennan asked.

"I tried. He and Padme are on a trip around the world." Booth punctuated his sentence with an eye roll.

"Your brother has always had a traveling soul. Even at three he'd sit for hours staring out the windows. His favorite activity was riding in the car. It never mattered where we were going, he was just content to be on the move."

"He isn't capable of keeping a job and he has zero sense of responsibility."

Brennan shot Booth a glance before she spoke. "I'm sure there'll be plenty of time to reconnect."

"Yes, I hope so."

No one in the room missed the sadness in Hester's voice as she spoke. A tense silence filled the room as they each contemplated her words until the shrill scream of an infant jarred them each out of their thoughts.

Booth stood first but Brennan quickly joined him and placed her hand on his arm. "I'll get her. You and your mother need to spend some more time together." She kissed Booth on the cheek. "I'll see you in bed. Goodnight Hester. Thank you for helping take care of Christine this evening."

"Thank you for letting me into your lives."

Brennan simply smiled as left the room to attend to her daughter.

Booth went to get his mother another cup of coffee while she read through a letter that she had written her husband, back before the lie that had torn their family apart. She was surprised to see that Edwin had sent the letters to Seeley when he died but was glad for the opportunity to remember him as the man that she fell in love with and not just as the liar he had become.

"There's my baby girl. Did you miss Mommy?" Brennan's voice came over the monitor that Booth had brought with him to the kitchen. "Grandma will have to teach Mommy that song, huh? She said that you quite enjoyed it."

"She's a good mom, Seeley. I'm glad that you have her in your life."

Booth turned the baby monitor off to give Brennan and Christine their privacy. "Yeah, she is. She reminds me of you sometimes, you know? Like the way she hates hockey but pretends to enjoy it anyway just to make me happy. You did that. You had no idea what was going on down on the ice but you'd be up in the stands cheering your lungs out. And you never missed a game."

"Yes, your father always had to tell me when to clap and when to boo."

"And she can cook too. She makes your meatloaf almost exactly like you did."

"Without the egg?" Hester grinned at the memory of her little boy, red faced as he ran screaming from the kitchen, after she had teased him about the egg looking like an eye.

"You remember."

Hester simply nodded and Booth continued to list Brennan's culinary skills. "The first Sunday we were together, she made me pancakes while I was in the shower." Booth's face lit up as he spoke about Brennan, more proof to his mother that her boy was right where he belonged.

"We had pancakes every Sunday didn't we?"

"I guess it's not all that uncommon but when I walked into the kitchen that morning and smelled the pancakes and saw her sitting at the table, it took me right back to all those Sundays mornings helping you. She has a big heart, Mom. That's what reminds me most of you. She doesn't realize it, and she doesn't do anything so that others will see it. She just does things because she feels they're right. You were like that. Remember the stray dog we chased fifteen blocks?"

"The Dalmatian? I had forgotten that. We ran that poor little thing all over the old neighborhood."

"You had seen it for days and knew that it was hungry."

"And when we finally caught the dog, he ate a very nice meal," Hester laughed.

"And then he ate Dad's shoe and he took him to the pound."

"That was the way it was with your father, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." The abrupt change in the tone of their conversation left an air of tension hanging in the room.

"After I saw that article, George used the computer to find information about you. I think he gave it to me because he thought it'd cause me to not want to come see you. But it did just the opposite. You're a good man. An honest, brave, kind hearted man. For all the hell your father and I put you through, you turned out to really be someone. I'm so proud of you."

As tears began to flow down her face, Booth took her hand in his. "You didn't put me through hell, Mom. He put both of us through it. He's the bastard who took us away from one another."

"I'm glad we're here now." Hester wiped her tears with the side of her hand.

"Me too. Maybe tomorrow Bones can take you shopping for your dress for the wedding? You've worn the same three outfits the entire time you've been here."

"My regulation outfits from The Facility."

"That must cut down on laundry."

"Among other things, yes, I suppose it does."

"But you're not there now. I can't have my mother wearing khakis to my wedding."

"It's getting late, perhaps it is time for us to go to bed," George's voice boomed from the shadows of the hallway, catching Booth and Hester off guard.

"I didn't see you standing there," Hester replied as she gathered her composure.

"I only just walked up. You must be tired Hester. It's very late."

"You can go on to sleep George, I can keep my mother company as long as she likes," Booth locked glances with the stranger he was allowing into his home, hoping that he understood the double meaning in his statement.

"Your mother is not accustomed to being awake past eleven. Are you Hester?"

Hester looked from George to her son and then back again. She opened her mouth to speak and then stopped before any words came out, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Please knock on my door and let me know before you retire for the night," George said as he turned and walked back toward the guest room.

As he left Booth released the breath that he had been holding. "Who is this guy Mom? What's his real name?"

"His name is George."

"Mom if there is anything you want to tell me. If there's anything that I need to know so that I can help you, please, just tell me."

Hester smiled and patted her son on the arm, "You don't have to be my hero Seeley. I do not need to be rescued."

"I can't let you go back there." His voice was determined but Hester Booth may have been the one other person aside from Brennan that he couldn't intimidate.

She didn't answer him. Instead she stood, picked up his now empty soup bowl and walked to the sink. She stood staring out of the window at a cherry tree on the far side of the backyard for several minutes. Then, as if she had made a silent decision, she crossed back toward Booth.

"It really is getting late Seeley." She leaned down and kissed her son on the top of the head. Then she walked off toward George's room, leaving her son sitting in the near darkness of his kitchen, wondering exactly which decision she had just made.


	10. The Wedding on the Beach

_Author's Note: I planned to never write a wedding scene between Booth and Brennan. However, this story needed one. I hope that I have given justice to these characters as they do what I consider something to be out of character for them, exchange vows._

* * *

><p>"I've imagined this day."<p>

"You have?" Booth looked at his mother with surprise.

"Some days, especially at first, it was too painful to think about you and Jared. But as time passed I found myself thinking about the two of you all the time. I found comfort in imagining my boys experiencing all of life's wonderful milestones."

Booth and his mother were standing on a beach in North Carolina. Behind them Booth and Brennan's friends and family were gathering for their wedding ceremony. The roar of the ocean created a serene symphony as they waited on the bride and her father to walk down the sea shell lined aisle. Hester was brimming with excitement. Booth was overwhelmed with joy.

George was filled with fear.

He was sitting in the last row of chairs that had been put out on the beach to accommodate the guests. Brennan had invited him to sit up front with Hester but he had declined. He was biting on his nails, a long held habit in times of stress. George did not like crowds. He also did not like being so far away from where he assured The Leader they were. If The Leader were to discover that they had deceived him, they would lose his trust and the decision of when to return would be taken away from him. He glanced nervously around the group. He recognized most of them as friends of Seeley and Temperance, but some of them he didn't know. He had considered asking Seeley, to make sure that they all belonged there but he found himself afraid of Hester's son and unable to void his concerns out loud. Now he found himself mentally cataloguing each stranger, filing information about their facial features away, in case it was needed at a later date. Most would call him paranoid, but he knew Hester would understand.

While George had spent the past week trying to convince Hester to return to The Facility, she had spent it busy helping with wedding preparations and outings with her eldest son. He had introduced her to Parker. The boy had only asked a few questions that Booth had answered as simply as possible. Hester had accompanied Booth to hockey games, she, Brennan and Christine all watching together from the stands. Both delighted in having a companion who understood the game as little as they did. She had cooked for them and she had sampled Brennan's cooking as well; declaring it good enough for her son. George watched all their interactions with a careful eye. He insisted that as few people as possible learn where Hester had been during the time that Booth had thought her deceased. His definition of "few" varied quite a bit from theirs. Hester spent her nights reassuring George that The Leader would understand and that they would return after the wedding. It wasn't enough to make George comfortable but yet it was enough.

Booth was sharing a hug with his mother as Caroline Julian approached and cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Is this your dead mother that I keep hearing about?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

"I'm not dead."

"Well we thought you were."

Hester nodded her head in understanding before asking Caroline if she were a minister.

"No, I'm a federal prosecutor. Not exactly the type to marry folks but for these two I went and got a license. After all I've been through with your son and Dr. Brennan, I deserve the honor."

"Plus you were the only person Bones and I could agree on," Booth added.

Caroline gave him a glare over her oversized sunglasses before turning her attention back to his mom. "I hear you've been stashed away at some secret location all these years."

"Yes, my husband sent me there after he told me my children were dead. I had a nervous breakdown."

"Why didn't you leave once you felt better?"

"No one ever leaves The Facility," Hester said as if it were the most normal situation in the world. "Besides I'm not sure I ever got over the loss of my boys. Until now."

"I suppose."

Booth could see the wheels turning in Caroline's head and he was glad that Angela and Michael appeared at the other end of the makeshift walkway before the suspicious lawyer could ask more questions. "Mom, maybe you should go take your seat? I think we're about to start."

Hester gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and returned to her seat on the front row next to Russ Brennan and his family. Caroline stepped into her place underneath an arch covered with vines and flowers. Parker ran to join his father waiting on Caroline's left side for Bones to appear.

A musician began to play and Angela walked down the aisle carrying the nearly two year old Michael in her arms. She had considered letting him walk but it seemed safer this way. The only glitch came when Cam stepped in the aisle with Christine. As soon as the baby saw Booth she began to call out "Da" louder and louder, her cries reaching a crescendo once they reached him. Cam quickly relented, unsure of what else to do, and placed her in Booth's arms.

The music abruptly switched to Mendel's Wedding March and Booth's spine went rigid. Nothing could distract him from watching his bride walk toward him, not even their daughter wiggling in his arms or her mother's exasperated looks.

"He isn't supposed to be holding her," Brennan remarked to her father.

"Well she has him suckered; man can't help it."

Booth stared at Bones as she approached. Her off white dress was flowing in the breeze coming off of the sea. The dress was decorated with a few simple jewels at the top and it was very much the style Booth had imagined for her. It was tight at the waist, accenting Brennan's figure. The bottom of the dress flowed outward, the fabric twisting at her ankle as she walked. Her hair was down and curled on the ends, the way he'd once told her he liked it. She never forgot anything. She wore a small veil that fell just to the bottom of her eyes.

Max and Brennan came to a stop in front of Booth as the music faded into the sound of the ocean. "Hey," Brennan said as she locked eyes with her groom.

"Hey," Booth smiled, "you look beautiful." He handed Christine to her grandfather and joined hands with Brennan. The baby wasn't exactly happy to have been taken away from her father, but Russ' wife Amy quickly tossed Monkey to Max and all was well again.

Caroline addressed the small crowd gathered before her. "The last time I stood in front of this group of people I was attempting to convict one of them for murder." Her opening line was met with a wave of laughter and she was glad to it wasn't "too soon."

Caroline smiled, "But today we're here for a much happier reason. Today we've come to finally join these two together in holy matrimony. Now, they've both denied that they've loved one another for years. Not that they were fooling anyone. And in a move that shouldn't surprise you, these two have written their own vows. Go ahead Cheri," she pointed to Booth.

He took a deep breath before he spoke, speaking directly to Brennan as if there weren't three dozen people in the audience listening to him. "Four years ago I told you that you were the one. For thirty or forty or fifty years, you would always be the one. I handed my heart to you. And you might not have been ready to accept it then but I'm still that guy Bones. I thank God every day that you are letting me be that guy. I'm the luckiest man on earth and I promise to spend the rest of my life protecting you, cherishing you, loving you. You didn't believe in marriage before but that didn't matter. I would've always stayed by your side, marriage or not. We would've always been a family but thank you for agreeing to be my wife."

Booth reached up to wipe the tears off of Brennan's face with the side of his hand. After a beat he turned to Parker and held out his hand.

"What?"

"Give me the ring."

"Oh," the ten year old fumbled with his hand in his pocket, his eyes widening when he didn't feel the ring.

"Check the other pocket."

One quick feel of the outside of his left pocket confirmed that the ring was there and relief flooded through him. "Here ya go Dad," Parker said as he proudly presented the simple gold band to his father.

"I love you," Booth whispered as he slipped the ring onto her finger.

She leaned in to kiss him but Caroline stopped her. "Whoa there Cheri, not yet. Go ahead with your vows."

Brennan blushed as the crowd laughed. It took Booth sending a glare toward their friends to get her to begin.

"Before I met you I had no concept of what it meant to be loved unconditionally."

Max Brennan felt his stomach drop at her words but he could not deny that she was being honest. He wiped a tear from his own face as his daughter continued her vows. "I did not understand what fate was. I didn't even believe that it existed. But you've shown me that love isn't rational. It isn't something that anyone can predict or make happen. When it's real, love is something that just is. It's been hard for me to accept that. But nonetheless I promise to love you, to cherish you and to let you protect me, even when it really annoys me."

Brennan scrunched up her nose in confusion at the laughter this line garnered from her audience "Why are they laughing at me Booth? That wasn't supposed to be funny."

"But it kinda was Bones." Booth held her gaze as realization of what she had said hit her and she joined in with their laughter.

As the crowd had settled Brennan resumed her vows. "Thank you for not giving up on me Booth. I thought that in order to enter into marriage that I would have to give up a part of myself. You have shown me differently. This evidence, along with others, shows me that you are often correct. And because of that I find myself believing that love will give us our chance at thirty or forty of fifty years spent together."

Angela handed Brennan the ring and she slipped it onto Booth's finger. He smiled as he looked at the gold band on his left hand; it was something he had wanted for so long that he had begun to think that it would never happen.

"See now wasn't that easy?" Caroline raised her eyebrows. "By the power vested in me by the state of South Carolina, and the Almighty himself, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may-"

The crowd cheered and shouted as Booth took Brennan in his arms before Caroline could finish her sentence.

* * *

><p>"I'm glad you talked me into this Booth." Brennan had her head lying on Booth's shoulder, he held her as they swayed to the music. The resort had a makeshift dance floor on the beach, with candles lit the edge casting flickering shadows that danced along with the party guests.<p>

Booth laughed, "I'm glad you let me."

"May I cut in?" Max asked as the four piece string band finished one song and began another.

"Of course," Booth kissed Brennan on the head as her father took her into his arms for a dance. "I'm going to go dance with my mom."

Booth found Hester and George dancing nearby and stole her away. "What a beautiful wedding Seeley."

"It was, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was simple yet elegant."

"I don't think this day could be any more perfect Mom," Booth said. The band began to play an up tempo song and Hester laughed out loud as Booth spun her in circles along with the beat.

Two lone figures, clad in grey suits watched the ceremony from the boardwalk above the beach. They didn't speak to anyone, not even each other as they took in the situation. The taller man nodded toward his counterpart as he watched Hester dancing with her son. Then he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and made two phone calls. One was to The Leader. The other was to George.

George's cell phone rarely rang. He knew the news wouldn't be good. He closed his eyes as he heard the message he knew was coming. Why hadn't she listened to him?

Once Hester realized that George was using the cell phone she was by his side in an instant. The words that he said to her sent a chill straight through her spine.

"Hester, they know."


	11. The Silence in the Airport

**Author's**_** Note: When I first started posting this story I said that it was complete. And it was. However, I wasn't happy with the second half of my story. Since this chapter begins that second half I have to take some space to thank Rynogeny for her help in making the rest of this story what it is. Without her honest input and patient hours helping me wrap my head around how to keep my vision while still writing in character and creating a believable ending, the rest of the story would not exist in its current form. For all the planning, well thought out suggestions and at times, well written paragraphs I cannot give her enough credit or enough thanks.**_

_**I must also think Frankie for her very early input into this and someonetookmyname for her last minute beta work to make sure I had all the kinks worked out. This story has certainly taken a village. Please let me know what you think!**_

* * *

><p>Booth and Brennan lay tangled in the sheets of their king sized bed. Their suite had an ocean view and they could lie in bed and watch as the waves crashed upon the shore seven stories below. They had spent the night with the doors to the veranda open, the breezes coming in from the outside keeping them cool as they explored one another's bodies throughout the night. Neither had slept. Now they lay together, sleepy but content and watched as the first reddish orange rays of the sun rose over the horizon.<p>

"Angela once told me that a sunset was more beautiful if you watched it with someone you loved. I now know that she was correct."

Booth nuzzled her neck and mumbled in her ear, "You're beautiful."

"I was talking about the sunrise Booth, not about me."

"The term still applies."

"I'm glad that your mother was there yesterday."

"Me too. These past few weeks have been almost unreal, having her here. Her meeting you and Parker and Christine. I feel like I'm going to wake up and find out this has all been a dream- hey, ow!" Booth rubbed the red spot on his arm where she had just pinched him.

"What did you do that for?"

"I thought proper etiquette was for one to pinch someone who believed that they might be dreaming. The theory being that one does not feel pain during a dream."

"Oh, yea, that's the theory all right," Booth dove under the covers, on a mission to tickle her into submission. But his mouth quickly found just the right spot and her instinctual moan had his playfulness quickly turned into another round of early morning love making.

* * *

><p>Hester and George had chosen to drive back to DC, whereas the rest of the wedding guests had decided to fly. Their car ride had been spent in relative silence. Both of them were thinking over the implications of The Leader knowing that they had been lying to him. George had instantly made the decision to return, wanting to fly from North Carolina directly back to The Facility. Hester, however, had wavered. His gut feelings warned him to physically force her off of the beach as soon as he had gotten the phone call, but with Seeley and his friends around he knew that his options were limited. The time lapse between then and now had allowed him to calm down and he had now convinced himself that they had at least until they arrived back in Washington to make a plan to return.<p>

Hester, on the other hand, was having difficulty coming to a conclusion about what her future should be. She realized that she was at a very important turning point and that she had a decision to make. The truth was, the outside world frightened her a little. She wanted to see Seeley and his family, wanted to spend more time with them. She wanted to see her baby, Jared. But to live in the world...what would she do? Everything had changed so much in thirty years; was so much more complex than she remembered. She wanted home, wanted her friends. Wanted the simplicity of deciding whether to make the cookies that Beth loved, or the cake that was Joe's favorite. And yet...her heart ached to watch Christine grow up. But if she found the courage to leave her home and friends, she'd just wind up a burden on her son. She had a place in her world, the home the Leader had fashioned for them. In Seeley's world...there wasn't a place for her. But perhaps her son would create a place. She allowed herself to believe that she could learn to live in the world for only a second before reality crashed down upon her again. Over and over the need to return to her home and the desire to stay with her son fought for control of her brain.

She knew that her decision would affect a lot more than just herself and George. If she chose not to return with him she feared that The Leader would send someone to take her or worse that he would harm Seeley or his family. And if they did come for her, she knew that her son would risk everything to save her. Of this she was certain. Hester shuttered at the idea that her actions could bring harm to her son.

She wondered if she really had a choice to make at all.

"You know that we have to go back," George's voice broke through the silence of the car.

Hester hesitated for only a moment before deciding to play devil's advocate. George knew more of the secrets of The Facility than she did, perhaps he would know if there was any chance at her having a choice. "What if we don't?"

"I can't live outside The Facility. You haven't taken my feelings into account here. I'm nervous and quite frankly terrified of being in this world; I don't belong here."

"But what if I do? Don't I belong with my son? With my grandchildren? George, I can't go back there. Please, if you care for me at all you won't make me go back."

"It's not up to me. If I return without you, I can't promise you that they won't come after you."

"If they come after me, Seeley will protect me."

"Your son is strong and powerful in this world Hester, but in our world there isn't anything he can do to protect you from The Leader."

"Then tell The Leader that I'm dead. Tell him that you lost me. Anything George, please. Please help me."

"They won't believe me Hester."

"They might."

"There's something that you haven't considered Hester."

Even without him elaborating, she knew what he meant. It was the fear she had hoped he would help her push away, the fear that The Leader would hurt her son. "Yes I have considered that."

"And you think it's still worth it?"

"I want to think that they wouldn't do it."

"You're wrong Hester. We have to go back."

"I still think that we have a few days to spare."

"Hester-"

"George, please. If you'll just stay here with me until Seeley and Temperance get back. Then we'll have a proper goodbye. I can't just leave my son without telling him goodbye. I did that once. I won't do it again."

George sighed and gripped the steering wheel tighter. He should've known better than to try to talk to Hester when she had made her mind up on a subject. It was clear that she would continue to try and postpone their return. There would always be another reason to wait. He regretted ever bringing her out of The Facility. He knew what had to be done.

He pulled off the interstate at the next rest area. He quickly used the facilities, returning to the car before Hester. He used this time away from Hester to contact The Leader. He wasn't going to keep playing her game. They had to go back; they had to return home. George gave The Leader all the information he needed and within minutes a plan was put into place. He couldn't stop it now, even if he had wanted to. He removed the SIM card from his disposable cell phone and placed it carefully behind the front wheel of their rental car so that it would be crushed as he backed away. Then he slung the phone into a nearby ditch and waited for Hester to return from the restroom. His heart broke for his friend but she could no longer be objective. George knew that sometimes you have to make difficult choices to save someone from themselves.

And in George's mind that's exactly what he had just done.

* * *

><p>Booth and Brennan's honeymoon was short. They were only staying two nights after the wedding, choosing to head back to DC and their daughter on Monday morning. They made every moment of their lazy Sunday count. They ordered breakfast to their room and ate on the balcony overlooking the ocean. Then they spent the rest of the day in bed, experimenting with one another's bodies. Their first time together had been under the threat of a serial killer and quickly after they had discovered they were pregnant. The two of them had never really had a day that they could just be together and not worry about their responsibilities. They alternated between making love and talking until they finally decided they needed to eat.<p>

It was almost seven in the evening when they ventured out of their room. They had dinner at a restaurant on the pier near their hotel and afterwards decided to take a walk along the shore. Booth ran his thumb alongside the edge of Brennan's hand as they walked with their fingers intertwined. He found it funny how such a small touch could feel nearly as intimate as intercourse.

"Do you want me to take your name?"

Booth was surprised by her question. "I'd love for you to but I assumed that you'd say no so I didn't ask."

"You are correct. I would have said no."

Booth laughed, "Then when did you bring it up now?"

"I've been considering it. I love that you know me well enough to not ask." She stopped to pick up a shell that had washed up at her feet. "Parker was collecting shells Saturday, I'll take this one to him as well. It's in remarkable shape."

Booth examined the shell and agreed that it was well intact. He watched as a sea gull floated near the edge of the water, almost as if it were following them as they walked. He was enjoying their comfortable silence, the feel of her hand in his, the way that her side occasionally swept against his as she walked barefoot in the sand. He caught himself trying to think of a conversation to start and had just decided against it when she spoke again.

"Professionally, I have to keep my name Booth."

"Hey it's okay, I understand. Trust me; I'm very good with what we have now."

"You are? So you don't want me to change my name?"

"You just said you couldn't."

"I said I couldn't professionally. Privately I could. As far as on my driver's license and forms we fill out for Christine."

"You'd do that?"

"I'd very much like to do that. I'm not even really a Brennan, I have no true emotional tie to the name, aside from my work that is. I think it would mean a lot if all four of us were Booths."

"You will never cease to amaze me Bones. Come here."

"Booth, you're going to get my pant legs wet," she called as he pulled her into the water.

"They'll dry," he said, then he laughed as a wave splashed up and over both of them. He captured her lips with his own, each taking in the salty sweetness of the ocean as they kissed. 

* * *

><p>Their flight landed in Washington at seven am. As they disembarked the plane Brennan called Angela to let her know that they'd be coming to get the baby by eight.<p>

Booth pulled their coats out of his carry on, "Here, it looks like it's freezing outside."

"According to the temperature announced by the pilot as we landed yes, it is abnormally cold for this time of the year. Although I'm not certain that you can ascertain that simply by glancing outside of the window."

Her confused smirk made him laugh. "All right funny girl I'm going to go get our luggage."

"I'm going to use the restroom." She pointed to the door just behind her.

"Okay, I'll meet you back here."

She mumbled her agreement as she made her way into the crowded restroom.

Booth felt like it took forever for their luggage to make its way around the carousel. He was surprised that Brennan hadn't come to find him yet but when he finally retrieved their bags and made his way back to the where he had left her, she wasn't there. He glanced around the area, it had cleared out and only a few passengers were left milling around. He wondered if she were just still in the restroom. Finding himself starting to panic he made his way into the women's room. A lady on her way out collided into him.

"Where are you going?"

"My wife. I can't find her. I thought maybe she was still in there."

"There's no one else in there sir."

"Are you sure?"

The woman nodded as she walked away. Booth's hands were starting to sweat and one of their bags slipped from his grasp. He cursed his clumsiness as he charged on into the restroom.

"Bones!" He imagined her coming up behind him, asking him why he was yelling into the empty restroom. He called her name several more times and opened each of the eleven stall doors to confirm that she wasn't there. He walked back into the terminal area and tried to call her cell phone. It went straight to voicemail. He went back into the restroom to call for her again. His shaky voice bounced back to him off the stone walls, confirming what he already knew.

She was gone.


	12. The Anger in the Agent

Seeley Booth had been a sniper with the Rangers. He had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He had killed over fifty people to save the lives of others. He had been an FBI agent for more than a decade; he had been stalked, chased and hunted by some of the country's most dangerous men.

But leaving Dulles Airport without Brennan by his side was the hardest thing he had ever done.

It was nearly two hours after their plane landed before he finally walked through the doors and into the chilly DC air. He had talked with security at the airport and as he left, the FBI was still searching the area for any evidence of what had happened to his wife. He was relieved that there was no evidence of blood in or around the restroom where he had last seen her.

He borrowed a vehicle from one of the FBI agents on the scene and headed toward the hotel where his mother was staying. On the way there he phoned Angela and told her what had happened. He asked her to keep Christine until he could figure out his next move.

Booth was angry. Angry at his mother for coming back into his life. Angry because he knew that her reappearance in his life had something to do with the fact that his wife hadn't made it back from their honeymoon with him. That she was out there somewhere and there wasn't anything that he could do to help her.

Booth was scared. Scared that Bones had been hurt. Or worse. Scared that he would never see her again. That his baby girl would grew up the same way her parents had: without a mother.

Booth was also hopeful. Hopeful that his mother somehow wasn't involved. Hopeful that he had made a terrible mistake and that Bones was fine. That she was still at the airport waiting for him, that he had just overlooked her. As hard as he tried, he couldn't get himself to believe that last one.

Booth pulled into the hotel parking lot on two wheels. He had driven the twenty miles with the lights and sirens on the vehicle. This garnered the attention of the tourists staying at the Marriott. He ignored their stares as he ran through the doors and up the stairs to his mother's room. He didn't have time to bother with the elevator.

George opened the door as Booth pounded on it. He and Hester had been waiting for him; they already knew what had happened. The disappearance of Dr. Temperance Brennan, New York Times best-selling author, from a crowded airport had made the headlines of the six o'clock news. Before the man could speak, Booth grabbed him by the collar of his button up shirt and slammed his back against the wall.

"Seeley," his mother called out, desperate to make him calm down.

"Where the hell is my wife?"

George couldn't speak; Booth had his throat constricted within the twisted fabric of the shirt. Booth pushed him harder into the wall, "You did this. Now you tell me where she is."

"Let him go, Seeley."

Booth did as he was told, the much smaller George collapsing in a heap on the floor beneath him, struggling to catch his breath. Then he approached his mother. "You too. What have you done? Where is she?"

"Seeley, I don't know."

George had composed himself and walked to stand behind Hester. "Yes, you do."

"Look, I don't understand anything about the two of you have said about this Facility place. I don't give a damn about The Leader or whatever he calls himself, but you both need to start explaining right now." Booth's face was red and the veins in his neck were bulging.

"I told you not to contact your son Hester, but you insisted." George directed the words at Hester but his eyes were still locked on Booth's.

"Did they take her to wherever the hell you two came from?"

"More than likely," George said but Hester reminded silent.

"Call them; tell them to send her back."

"It isn't going to work that way."

"Then what's going to work?"

"I should have gone back. They took Temperance because I didn't go back. That's the only way they'll return her." Hester felt bile rising in the back of her throat as she realized that she alone had caused this. Had it been up to George they would've returned well before The Leader realized that they had made contact with Seeley.

The reality of the situation smacked Booth in the face and he took a step back from his mother. "No. Maybe it wasn't them, I just assumed. It could have been anyone. We work a lot of dangerous cases. I'll call the Bureau, have them start running some names. He picked up his cell phone to dial and it became obvious how hard his hands were shaking.

"Seeley," his mother placed a calming hand on his arm, "That would be too big of a coincidence. It has to be because of me."

He put the phone back down by his side. "Then George will contact them, explain the situation. They'll send her back. You keep saying that they're good people."

"Good is a relative term Agent Booth. They won't hurt Dr. Brennan but they won't negotiate either. The only chance we have of getting her back is going back ourselves."

"You're sure that they won't hurt her?"

"I'm certain."

"Then we have time. We can work out a way to get Bones back and let Mom stay too. Tell me where this place is, I'll go talk to them. I'll call in a whole damn SWAT team."

"I can't tell you that."

"Mom?" Booth's eyes plead with his mother to give him an answer.

"I couldn't even find it myself Seeley."

"But you can," Booth's face was angry and he stepped toward George causing him to stumble backwards into the bed. He fell down on his back and Booth towered over him. "Where is The Facility?"

"I'm very much afraid of you Agent Booth but I'm more afraid of them. I cannot tell you where your wife is. If I give you the location of The Facility, they'll kill Temperance. And then they'll come and kill both me and Hester as well."

"Not if you can't communicate with them. Give me the cell phone."

"I don't have a cell phone."

"You're a horrible liar. I've seen you with a cell phone. Now tell me where it is." George continued to resist as Booth forced his hands into the older man's jacket pockets. He pulled George back into a standing position and practically ripped the jacket from his shoulders, slinging it across the room as his search for the phone came up empty. "It's going to be your pants next, come on, make this easier on both of us."

George reached into his pant pockets and turned them inside out, proving that they were empty. "I got rid of the phone. I never keep a cell phone for long, I don't like the idea of the government being able to track my location."

"And I don't like the idea of someone kidnapping my wife." Booth dragged George by the shoulders until he had him cornered against the back wall of the room. "You've got one last chance to tell me where she is."

"I won't. We'll leave tomorrow and they'll send Temperance back. It's the only way. I will not let you destroy The Facility. Too many people need the help they provide. People like me and your mother."

Booth didn't lessen his grip on George's arms as he cast a glance toward his mother. Seeing the tears running down her face broke his heart but she had brought all of this on herself. She should have never contacted him if she knew it would put his family at risk.

George struggled, trying to free himself from Booth's grasp but his hold was much too strong. "You have to trust me."

Booth's glare tore through the man like shards of glass. "Why the hell would I trust a bastard like you? You've been holding my mother hostage for thirty years. And she isn't the only one. Do not tell me to trust you."

"Seeley, that's not true. George hasn't been holding anyone hostage." Hester carefully approached her son and laid a hand on his back.

"Stay out of this Mom."

Hester took a step back, sitting down on the bed.

"George Santora you are under arrest for kidnapping and impeding a federal investigation." Booth began to pull him from the room.

"Seeley, don't do this. Please, we'll go back."

"This asshole is going to pay for what he's done." 

* * *

><p>"I should have left sooner." Hester's voice was timid as Booth walked back into the hotel room five hours later.<p>

"Well you didn't. And now you have to help me. If we can't go get her then we need a plan to get her back." His eyes were emotionless and it terrified Hester.

"I'm not sure that I can. You have to believe me when I say that all I know is that The Facility is in California. And I didn't know that until we left to come here."

"Yeah but you know how the place works. Your boyfriend holds up quite well under interrogation, he won't tell us anything."

"They won't hurt him will they?"

"They shouldn't. But I can't be sure."

"Seeley please, I love him."

"I guess we're both in the same situation then, aren't we?" His anger was controlling him but his heart still tore at the thought of how it was hurting his mother. "Come on, let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"I need to go get my daughter. Then you're going to help me figure out how to find my wife." As he led his mother toward the door he noticed Brennan's coat lying on the dresser. He had forgotten that he had brought it with him earlier, that he had held it since he was looking for Brennan at the airport, only dropping the coat when he accosted George.

Hester sensed the change in her son as he saw the coat and she tried to reassure him. "It's warm there."

He shook his head and snorted, "It's warm in prison too. I guess we both have our small comforts." 

* * *

><p>As they turned into the driveway of his home Booth saw a man standing and pacing on the front porch. Turns out that Hester and George weren't the only ones watching the news.<p>

Booth wasn't sure he'd ever been happier to see Max Keenan.


	13. The Talk in the Nursery

"Booth!" Max's voice reverberated off the trees as he raced toward his son in law. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know, Max."

"You don't know? Tempe is gone and that's all you can say? You don't know?"

"Don't start." Booth still had his mother by the arm as he used his body to force Max up against the side of the porch. Hester let out a strained whimper as she watched the two men exchange in a staring contest. Neither flinched. "You know how much I love your daughter."

"Yeah, I know how much you love your mother too. That's why all of this has happened, right? The whacked out, maniacal, crazy ass cult leader who's been holding her hostage all these years took my daughter to prove a point. Because you ignored your mother's friend when he kept telling you that they had to leave. You're the one who insisted that she stay. You were too busy playing little boy for your mama to realize how much danger you were putting your own family in."

Max's words slapped Booth in the face like a wet towel. He hadn't said anything that Booth hadn't already thought himself. He wasn't about to let Max know that though. He matched him toe for toe and tone for tone. "I don't put anyone's interests in front of Bones."

"Then send her back to whatever hell hole she blew in here from and get my baby back."

Max took a dive around Booth and attempted to grab Hester. Booth was one step ahead of him, and managed to capture Max with his left hand, gripping his upper arm.

It took all of Booth's strength; both literally and figuratively to maneuver both his mother and Max into the house without lessening his grip on them. He slammed them both down into kitchen chairs and sat between them. It was several minutes before anyone spoke.

"Listen Max, you can blame me. You can blame by mother. Blame whoever you want, but we both know that the only one who is really at fault here is The Leader. He took Bones because he wants my mom to go back. To go back to where he's been holding her hostage and lying to her for the past thirty years. But we can't just send her back. We can't let this guy win. You know that you can't negotiate with maniacs. It doesn't work."

Booth stood up from the table and walked to the refrigerator. He leaned against the counter and drank from the glass of water he had poured for himself, trying to calm his nerves. Once he finished, he placed the glass in the sink and rejoined Max and Hester at the table. He addressed Brennan's father first. "Now you can stay here and you can act like a reasonable person and you can help me. Or you can get the hell out of my house because no one is going to come into my home and accuse me of not being so in love with Temperance Brennan that I wouldn't give my own life in order to save hers. No one is going to get away with telling me that I don't care enough about her when everything inside me aches because I don't know where she is or if she's okay. Not even her father."

Max closed his eyes but nodded his agreement. "Fine. Then let's figure out how to nail this son of a bitch."

Booth nodded at Max, and then he shifted in his seat to face Hester. "Are you sure that you don't know where The Facility is? Something in thirty years had to have given you a clue. Anything."

"I don't know where it is. If I did, I would have already told you, Seeley." Hester wasn't sure that she was speaking the truth, but she wanted to believe that she was. In reality the idea that The Facility may be exposed because of her actions greatly upset her.

"So where is this George now? Did you kill him?"

The nonchalant way Max suggested murdering George made Hester gasp.

"I'm not you, alright? As much as I hate the guy, right now he is our best chance at getting Bones back alive. I did throw his ass in jail."

Max turned to Hester ."I want to talk to my daughter."

"There aren't any phones at The Facility," she answered.

"There has to be some way that you people are keeping in contact with your leader. I saw George talking on a cell phone at the wedding," Max said.

"It doesn't work that way, the inhabitants aren't allowed to talk on phones. Only certain upper level members can."

"Bones isn't an inhabitant, they kidnapped her."

"As far as they're concerned, yes, she is an inhabitant now. Until I go back."

"Then get to packing," Max said.

Hester looked to Booth, "He's right, I need to leave."

"It isn't going to work that way Mom. It's too late for that. Even if it were that easy The Leader is still committing multiple crimes, I can't just allow him to switch one felony offense for another."

"So you're going to ruin everything?"

"I'm not ruining anything Mom, I'm fixing things. This man has destroyed lives; he has to pay for what he's done."

"He doesn't destroy lives Seeley, he saves them. He saved me."

"He's trying to destroy mine. And your granddaughter's. He's not your hero, Mom. If he were then he would've let you leave the minute he knew the truth. The minute he knew that you had a family on the outside that loved you."

Hester sunk back in her seat. Seeley was never going to understand what The Facility meant to her. He would never see that arresting The Leader would be the worst thing that he could ever do to her. She had no idea how she could make him believe her and with George in prison, she had no way of taking things into her own hands by returning to The Facility. 

* * *

><p>Hodgins and Angela came by with Christine around ten that evening. Booth had phoned them and told them that he wanted to see his daughter. Now they were sitting with Max in the living room trying to solve the puzzle of The Facility.<p>

"So what we've got a maniac with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder keeping a community of hopeless people held hostage?" Max summarized Booth's words as he finished detailing what he knew about his mother's life since she had disappeared.

"That's the way I understand it, yeah." Booth bounced Christine on his knee, trying to calm his daughter as she began to whine.

"What about the cell phone? Can we use that to trace the numbers back to The Facility?" Max held Monkey up for Christine to play with but she slapped it back toward her grandfather.

"He must have dumped it. I searched the room myself and a team of agents searched both their hotel rooms and the vehicle. They came up empty. I think George knew that they were going to kidnap Bones and he made sure to get rid of the phone before we started looking."

"Classic paranoid behavior," Hodgins added.

"This organization has stayed underground for at least thirty years. I think they know a few things about keeping secrets." Max was sitting on the couch, the stress obvious in his features and the manner in which he was gripping Monkey so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"They may have made a mistake taking Brennan. A lot of people know what she looks like. Maybe somebody on the plane recognized her? Could you interview the passengers Booth?"

"The FBI is already on it Ange. They've requested that I stay out of the investigation though. At least officially."

"So what can we do? Unofficially?" She asked.

"Get the transcripts from George's interrogation. See if anything matches up with information we found when my mother first showed up."

"And you need to have your shrink friend talk with Hester. Maybe he can figure out why she's so determined to put The Leader's needs in front of her own," Max added.

Hodgins agreed, "That's a good idea. There is some deep psychological shit going on here."

"Fine," Booth realized that Max had a point. He certainly didn't understand what was going on inside his mother's head, but maybe Sweets would. "But we'll do it tomorrow. She might be more open to talking with Sweets after she's had a chance to sleep on things."

"We all probably need to get some sleep. We should go home," Hodgins said, taking Angela's hand.

"I'm not going anywhere." Max stretched out onto the couch as if staking his claim.

"That's fine Max. You can stay here as long as you want."

"What are you going to do Booth?" Angela asked as Hodgins helped her put her coat on.

Booth looked down at the baby in his arms as she yawned widely. "Right now? I'm going to go put my daughter to bed." 

* * *

><p>Booth sat in the rocking chair by the picture window in Christine's room. He held his daughter tightly in his arms, as if he could keep her safe by pure will alone. As he rocked he could hear the chair strain beneath him. It was old and rickety but a few weeks' worth of elbow grease and a few coats of paint had restored it to its once natural glory. Well, aside from the creak. The chair let out another whine of discontent as he rocked and the baby opened one eye. She was glancing at him as if to say, "Mom told you the chair was too loud."<p>

Booth smiled in spite of himself. Their daughter definitely had her mother's attitude, even at ten months. He knew he should try to put the baby down again. He had already tried twice but Christine wasn't used to sleeping in her own bed. Since birth she had slept with Booth and Brennan. Her mom said it was anthropologically important for her development, aiding in sleeping, feeding and bonding. With the baby in their bed, Brennan could usually breast fed and get her back to sleep before Booth realized either of them had woken. Booth simply liked the idea of having both his girls close during the night. The need to sneak off for bathroom or kitchen sex served to give them both a creative outlet for their love making. Booth liked to say that instead of the baby putting a damper on their sex life, she had brought new heat into it by forcing them to "think outside the bedroom."

Tonight he needed Christine to sleep in her own bed. That was the only way he was going to be able to work on his plan to free Bones from the hands of The Facility. But as he lay the baby down in her crib for the third time, she began to wail once again. Booth sighed and lifted her back into his arms.

"I don't like this either, Little One," Booth succeeded in getting her pacifier back in her mouth as he rocked her. "I miss Mommy too you know."

Booth smiled, he could hear Bones' voice in his head, "You do know that she cannot understand the depth of the conversation that you're attempting to have with her, right?"

Bones was probably right. She usually was, but Christine was an excellent listener. And right now, that's exactly what Booth needed.

"She knew. Mom knew that if she came back here that something terrible would happen. She knew and she did it anyway. Now, all I want is to see your mommy again. To see the way her entire face lights up when she sees you. You know it took her seven years to admit that she was in love with me? It didn't even take her seven seconds to say how she felt about you though." The baby cooed in his arms, and he held her tighter.

"Christine, I won't let this happen. I will not let him get away with this. I'll wipe their whole damn society from this Earth. I won't rest until I make sure that they never hurt another soul. I don't care about any ramifications, I'll expose every secret, ruin every life they're trying to save. They're trying to tell me that I can't have my mom and yours too. They think that I'll trade one of them for the other. And I think they were right, I'm almost ready to just hand my mom back over to this maniac. I guess that makes me a pretty horrible person, huh?"

He looked down at Christine as if he expected her to answer, only to realize that his tiny sounding board had fallen back to sleep. "Bones, she's one third of my reason for living. I don't want to be in a world without her. I didn't even know my mother was alive until last month. This isn't fair at all Christine." He readjusted the baby in his arms. "We're going to get your mommy back. Even if it does mean that I have to let mine go again. But I won't stop there. They're going to pay for what they've done to all of us."

Booth looked down at the sleeping little girl in his arms smoothing his large hand over the tuft of blond hair that was just beginning to form along her temples. As Booth leaned over the crib the baby began to cry again. "It's barely been twelve hours kid and we're both a mess," Booth said as he gave up on the crib and cuddled his baby back against his chest.

"Maybe I can help?"

Booth froze in his steps as he heard the voice. "I think you've done plenty. Don't you?"

"Seeley, I'm sorry. George kept telling me this was dangerous but I had to see you again."

"You should've gone to see Jared instead."

"Jared wasn't in People Magazine."

Booth finally turned to face his mother; Christine was wide awake now, her large eyes focusing on her grandmother's.

"She's a beautiful baby."

"Yea, she looks like her mom."

"I understand that you're upset Seeley. I'll go back and they'll return Temperance. It's the only way."

"Mom, I've already told you why that isn't going to work."

"Please Seeley, don't do this. I need The Facility. I need to go back. Don't try to punish them. They'll send Temperance home and I can go back to The Facility content that you're safe and that you're happy."

"You promise me she's safe there Mom?"

"They're not violent people Seeley. Over thirty years and I've never seen anyone harmed. They want to help people, albeit with unconventional methods."

"We're not going to agree on this. Listen, will you do me a favor tomorrow and talk to a friend of mine?"

"Sure." She walked forward and reached for Christine, "And for now let me help you with her."

Booth held on to his daughter, taking a moment to get his anger under control and to remember that his mother was as much as a victim in all of this that was. "Thanks, Mom." He handed Christine to her and kissed his baby on the head as he walked out of the room.

Hester settled into the old creaky rocking chair, breathing deeply to savor the sweet smell of the infant. There weren't any children at The Facility and she hadn't held an infant since Jared was a baby. "You need your mother back Christine. I've enjoyed my time here, I thought my boys were dead and I pray to God that they didn't tell your mother the same about you or your father. I didn't lie; they won't physically hurt her but sometimes their mind games are much more powerful than a punch would ever be. We can't leave her there much longer. Seeley thinks he can do so much more than he can. If he goes through with this plan, people will be hurt. Maybe even your mommy."

Hester laid her head atop of her granddaughter's and sighed, "I won't let anyone else get hurt."


	14. The Mother and the Shrink

Author's_ Note: Sorry for the delay. Thanks to someonetookmyname and Rynogeny for all their beta help! This story has been a long time in the making!_

_Please let me know if you're still reading and what you think!_

* * *

><p>"Mrs. Booth," Sweets began to speak but Hester cut him off.<p>

"No one has called me that in years. Please, just Hester."

"Of course," he smiled at her. "I'm Lance. I work with your son and Dr. Brennan."

"You're a psychologist."

"Yes, the FBI employs me to profile criminals." As soon as the words left his mouth he knew they were a mistake.

"Are you under the impression that I'm a criminal?"

"Of course not," Sweets smiled. "However, I do think that the people who have been holding you are involved in criminal activity. So does Booth. He thinks that if you talk to me we may be able to understand the motivations behind Dr. Brennan's kidnapping."

"Their motivation was to blackmail my son into allowing me to leave."

"Why do they feel it's necessary to blackmail him?"

"Because I did not return when they expected. They allowed us to leave for two weeks. However, I have now been gone nearly two months. It is my fault. They must've thought that I did not want to return and that by taking Temperance my son would be willing to make an exchange. But I always planned to return."

"You can just do that? You can just leave and go back to them?"

"Yes. Seeley has his life here and I never intended to change his life. I just wanted to see him. I needed to know that it was real, that my son was really alive."

"You haven't had a chance to see Jared yet."

"And that is unfortunate. But The Leader has spoken. By taking Temperance he has made it impossible for me to stay here. I must return to him so that he will return her to her life. Enough lives have been destroyed already; I will not have Christine growing up without a mother because I was selfish."

"What about the lives that The Leader has destroyed?"

"I don't think he has destroyed anyone's life."

"What about yours? He lied to you. He held you captive for thirty years." Sweets moved to sit across from her at the table, slipping deep into professional mode.

"I don't believe that he knew what Edwin was telling him was a lie. I think he believed Edwin was telling him the truth. He thought that he was saving me."

"Then you don't believe that The Leader has lied to anyone?"

"No, he only helps people; he never harms them."

Sweets decided to take a different approach. "Tell me a little about your daily life at The Facility."

"I am responsible for preparing food for all of the inhabitants. I wake at five am to gather eggs from the chicken coups. Gia likes to help me. She's quite the early bird. Sometimes I believe that I remind her of her mother. She often speaks of her as we fix breakfast."

"Why is Gia at The Facility?"

"I'm not sure. I only know that she speaks highly of her mother and that she misses her very much. I don't know why or how they became separated."

Sweets nodded and Hester continued without being prompted further. He realized that he was gaining ground and waited for a good opportunity to present her with the information Booth had given him earlier in the day.

"Some of the inhabitants talk about why they are there. Others do not. Gia is one of those who rarely talks of her life before The Facility. No one is ever forced into giving away their secrets. Some secrets are much too painful to speak of."

"Do you talk about your secret?"

"With those that I am close to. There are others who have also lost children. I find that I am especially close to those inhabitants. We have cried on one another's shoulders many nights."

"Between meals, what do you do?"

"I keep an inventory of what is needed in the kitchen. I help supervise our garden area. I make sure that there is plenty of food being planted and grown to fulfill the needs of everyone. Aside from the chickens we also raise a few other animals for food, cows and pigs. Michael oversees the farm animals but he is always eager and appreciative of my assistance."

"Everyone has their own job to do then?"

"Everyone who wants one. Some prefer to simply spend their time writing or drawing. They are allowed to do what they want. No one forces us to do anything. That's what I've been trying to tell you."

"Aside from work what do you do? Do you have any hobbies?"

"I enjoy reading. I've read most all the books in The Facility. That's why I like going to George's office. He has new magazines and access to the computer. I also enjoy sitting in the common rooms. Often the others will ask me to help them complete their own chores or their personal tasks. Sometimes I'll sit up long into the night speaking to one of the other inhabitants about a concern in their life. Counseling them, I suppose you'd call it. "

Sweets' smile was genuine as he spoke, "It sounds like you lead a very nice life."

"Yes I do. And that is why I am more than happy to go back. Then everyone's lives can return to the way they were before I came here."

"So you don't see anything wrong or unusual with The Facility?"

"I suppose I can see why you would think that. But to me, it's a perfectly reasonable way to live. We aren't hurting anyone else. Or at least we weren't until I made the mistake of trying to fulfill my own selfish desire to see my son. And the isolation allows us a manner of privacy and security that we would not have if we had access to the outside world."

"What would you say if I told you that we found evidence that The Leader paid your husband in order to take you to The Facility?"

"I would say that I don't believe you."

"Edwin cashed a large check several days after he held your funeral. The FBI found the receipts." Sweets slide proof of his claim toward her on the table but she didn't move.

Her face was blank as Sweets continued. "Hank Booth remembers his son saying that he had received money from a life insurance policy."

"I don't remember there being an insurance policy."

"That's because there wasn't. Not that anyone can find, at least. "

"He lied."

"Yes. Hank says in the weeks after your 'death' that Edwin bought a new car, did some updates on the house, and took a trip without his boys."

"How much was I worth?"

"Hester …"

"I want to know."

"Forty thousand dollars."

"I have no trouble accepting what you're saying about Edwin. But The Leader, why would he do that? He doesn't pay for people. And even if he did why me? I don't understand."

"I wish I had those answers. We think the money was used to fake your death and to transport you to The Facility." Sweets lowered his voice before he continued. "And as a payoff to your husband for convincing you that your children were dead."

All the color drained from Hester's face. She barely recognized her own voice as she started to speak. "But that would mean that The Leader knew all along that my family wasn't dead. He would've known about my boys. That he was taking me away from my boys."

"Yes."

"He lied to me?" Her voice was a combination of realization, shock and betrayal.

"I'm afraid so Hester. And how many others did he lie to?"

"I – I don't know." Her mind flashed with images of friends that she considered family. Her ears rang with the sound of their voices telling her their stories. The stories that she knew as well as she knew her own. There's Teresa whose husband beat her. Hester always felt she'd found a kindred spirit in her. There was Joe, who loved Hester's apple pie. He had been a businessman worth millions when his company folded. He was blamed for its collapse and for the hundreds of people who lost their jobs when it fell. His life was nothing but regrets. There was Amber and John and Trish and Sam and Charles and Mary… She could go on and on. Her head was spinning with their faces, and with the implications of what her son's friend was telling her.

George had convinced her to believe The Leader but now she wasn't sure of anything.

Were they all there on false pretenses? Had there been one hundred and two charades? One hundred and two lies?

"Hester, are you okay?"

She wiped her eyes as she looked up at the young man. "No. I don't think that I am. I thought that he was helping us, all of us. But if he lied to me," her voice trailed off and she didn't have to finish for Sweets to know what she was thinking.

"You need to help us stop him. There has to be more to this than simply trading your freedom for Dr. Brennan's. I'm almost certain that you aren't the only person that was taken on false pretenses."

"You must realize how difficult this is for me. My whole reality is changing. You're telling me that everything I ever knew was a lie? That the one person who I thought saved me, who I thought I could trust, is a liar. I'm not sure I can process this much information, I'm not sure what you want me to do." Her voice quivered even as it rose in volume with each sentence.

"I need you to accept the truth so that you can help us save your daughter- in- law and help us take down The Leader."

Hester held her eyes closed tightly. She could feel Sweets next to her, his hand resting on her arm trying to reassure her. She knew her son stood just beyond the window of the interrogation room, she could feel his gaze even though she couldn't see him.

Despite all of her confusion it only took her a few minutes of thought to realize exactly what she was going to do. She could only pray that one day her son would understand.


	15. The Envelope in the Lab

Hodgins picked up the envelope and held it in his hands, studying it carefully. It was white without any markings or stamps.

"How did this get in here?"

The guard who had brought it to him shrugged. "The mailroom just told me to give it to you. We ran it through an explosives test and checked for any unknown substances. It's clean."

"How did the mailroom know it was for me? Someone had to have said something."

"Have you been to the mailroom? They process tens of thousands of pieces of mail and artifacts daily. There are hundreds of employees with their hands involved. It would be nearly impossible to track down which of them knows something."

"You know, Dr. Hodgins, I have an idea about how we can find out something about this envelope," Cam said.

"What?"

"Open it."

The security guard chuckled as he turned to leave the lab.

Hodgins glared at Cam over top of the offending piece of mail before sliding a gloved finger through the top. A piece of regular notebook paper, folded into a square, fell out and onto the desk in front of him. He and Cam exchanged curious glances as Hodgins began to slowly unfold the letter.

His eyes went wide as he read the words, then he held it up for Cam to read. "If you return Hester within 48 hours, Temperance Brennan will be returned to you immediately. _Those are our only terms_."

"I need to call Booth."

"Call Booth for what?" He had been walking up the lab stairs when he overheard his name.

Cam held up the letter for him to read.

His expression was unreadable. "Any chance there's fingerprints or DNA on this?"

Cam and Hodgins exchanged glances then decided that there was no reason to state the obvious. No need to say that there wasn't any way The Leader would be that careless.

Unfortunately for Hodgins, he said it anyway.

"So what are you saying? That you're not even going to try?"

"No, I didn't mean that at all."

"What the hell did you mean then?"

"Calm down, man."

"Could you calm down? Could you? If it were your wife? If you didn't know where she was? If she wasn't sitting there in her office? If some madman had Angela could you calm down? If you had no way of knowing, of truly knowing if she were even alive? If your son couldn't sleep at night because all he could do was cry for his mommy?"

Booth stared at Hodgins, nostrils flaring, face red with anger. Hodgins held up his hands in defeat and backed away. But Booth wasn't finished.

"Don't you ever dare to tell me to calm down again."

He tossed the letter on the table and headed back down the platform. His yelling had drawn the attention of everyone in the lab. They all stood staring in disbelief at the normally calm FBI agent as he retreated.

Cam gave Hodgins a sympathetic look. But he simply nodded. He understood that Booth's outrage had nothing to do with him. He took the letter from the table and said, "I'll see what I can do with this." 

* * *

><p>Cam found Booth sitting on the couch in Brennan's office. He was holding one of Christine's blankets in his hand, his head laid back against the cushions in defeat.<p>

"She must have forgotten this here last week," Booth said as Cam walked into the room.

"Seeley." Her heart was breaking for her friend.

His glare stopped her from continuing and she changed her tactic before she spoke. "We don't know for certain that we won't be able to pull anything off of that envelope."

"They haven't slipped up yet. Why send us something that would expose them now?"

"Everyone makes mistakes. He will eventually."

"Eventually can take a long time."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want Mom to tell us where to go to get Bones back."

"She won't?"

"She keeps insisting that she can't. That she doesn't even know where The Facility is located. But Sweets talked with her earlier and he thinks that she might have more information than she's giving us. He says it's her safe place and that she truly wants to go back." His grip never left the baby's blanket while he spoke.

Cam lowered the volume of her voice before she spoke again. "Maybe it's time you let her."

"No, Cam, she belongs here with me. We're family. I need us all to be a family."

He use of need instead of want was not lost on Cam. "If you keep her here against her will then you're doing the same thing The Leader has done. You have to let your mother choose what is right for her."

"If I thought she was able to choose then there wouldn't be any question. But I can't be sure. She probably has some sort of Stockholm Syndrome."

"Did Sweets think that?"

"He mentioned it as a possibility. He seemed to back off though after he spoke with her today. Now he says she's dependent on these people. And that she's seen as a role model to the others. He thinks she enjoys her status as a care taker."

"It sounds like she was happy there."

"But how could she be happy going back there now? When she knows that I'm alive. That Jared is alive. That we need her. Why can't she choose us over The Facility?"

"The Facility has been her life for over thirty years. There are people there that she cares about. That she loves. That doesn't take away from her love for you. Not any more than your love for Dr. Brennan makes you love your mother any less. But, if there has to be a choice made your mother can't choose you over her former life any more than you can choose her over Brennan."

He didn't respond because there wasn't anything left to say. Cam was right and he knew it. If his mother wanted to return then he had to let her.

"I want the control here. I don't like the idea that Bones' safety is in the hands of this man. I want to physically go to where they're holding her and bring her home. The idea of a trade and waiting on them to keep their promise doesn't sit well with me at all."

"That's because you are who you are. You're a man of action. But sometimes the only action we have is to wait. Your mother trusts these people and she says they won't harm Brennan. That has to be some level of comfort for you."

"It is. But still," his voice trailed off and it was only when he lifted his hand to wipe his cheek that Cam noticed a tear trickling down his face. She reached out and grasped his hand. He squeezed her fingers, thankful for the comfort of an old friend. Then he chuckled through his tears. "Just when everything started working out, huh?"

"Yeah." Words escaped her so she simply held his hand tighter. The feel of his wedding band against her skin reminded her of exactly what he meant. Being married, raising his own family, correcting the mistakes his father made; it was the only thing he had ever truly wanted.

"She asked me if I wanted her to take my name."

"She did?" Cam couldn't hide her surprise. "I never would have guessed that."

"Not professionally, of course," he said as he smiled for the first time that day.

Cam smiled back, she could hear Brennan's voice saying those exact words. "Of course."

"I miss her Cam, it's only been a couple days and I miss her so much that it's hard to breathe."

"I know you do. You don't have to prove to any of us how much you love Dr. Brennan."

Booth clutched Christine's blanket closer to his chest. "I just can't wrap my head around any of this."

"You've always had faith, Seeley. Don't lose it now."

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you can't hold him any longer?"<p>

"We don't any evidence to keep him. I've already pulled every string I have to keep him in there as long as we have." Caroline Julian faced an irate Seeley Booth in his office at the FBI building.

"You have all kinds of strings Caroline."

"Look Booth, I'm sorry. I know as well as you do that this man is connected to Dr. Brennan's disappearance but there just isn't any evidence. No physical evidence at the airport, and there is nothing to link this man to anything illegal. Hell, there's nothing that links him to anything at all. But that is not a crime. As far as the Bureau is concerned, Dr. Brennan walked out of that airport of her own free will."

"Oh, come on Caroline, you know that isn't what happened."

"I know Cheri, but that's the way it looks right now; we can't prove anything else happened."

Booth sat down on the corner of his desk and took a picture of Brennan and Christine in his hands. He sighed as he ran his finger along the frame. "Where do you think George was going when he was released?"

"He's probably headed to your house to meet back up with your mom."

"Like hell he's getting back into my house."

"Max still there?"

"Yeah, if George shows up he's going to regret that I wasn't home."

"If the two of you murder this son of a bitch you may never see her again."

"Yeah, and Max knows that. Doesn't mean he won't need a good plastic surgeon by the time Max is done with him."


	16. The Fracture in the Nasal Bones

Caroline had been right. George had left the prison and taken a cab to Booth and Brennan's home. And he had collided with Max's fist when he tried to walk through the front door. When he returned home Booth found his mom sitting on the front porch steps holding a bag of ice against George's face.

Booth didn't waste time being friendly. "You need to go back, you leave my mother here."

"That decision is up to her, Seeley."

"Really? All this time I thought the problem was that the decision was up to you. If it was really up to her you could've gone back weeks ago, saved all of us a lot of trouble."

"Seeley, please, it isn't that simple." His mother pleaded.

"It seems pretty simply from where I stand, Mom. The two of you have been making this out to be my choice. A choice between my mom and my wife. But it's not. It's your choice, isn't it? If George is saying that it's up to you, then it's your choice. You have to choose between me and him."

"Seeley." His mother stood, handing the ice pack to George and followed him toward the front door.

Booth didn't even look back at her. "It's up to you. You're welcome to stay here as long as you want, Mom. But if I ever see your face again," he said, turning suddenly to speak to George, "you're a dead man."

Hester slumped down on the steps and George laid a hand on her back as he sat down to join her.

"We've outstayed our welcome, Hester. We have to go back."

"I cannot return if things remain the way that they were.

"What do you mean? What have they said to you?"

"They have evidence, George. The Leader paid my husband so that he could take me. Then he helped him fake my death and he lied to me. He has been lying to me the entire time. Who else has he lied to?"

George was staring at her with a skeptical look on his face. He simply refused to believe that The Leader was a liar.

"I'm going back George. But I'm not going back to be a sheep of The Leader."

"What do you mean Hester? What are you trying to say?" His shock was evident as he subconsciously distanced himself from her on the porch.

"Tell me about the evacuation plan."

George audibly gasped, "How did you know?"

"Apparently I am very naïve, but I am not a fool."

"We can't do something like that without the permission of The Leader."

"We're going to take him out of the equation."

George was fiercely shaking his head, unable to form words.

"I have made my decision. And I would like for you to help me. I want to return to my life; to my friends. To the way you and I were before we came here. Before I learned the truth. But I will not return to letting this man hurt people that I love."

"Hester they seem to have convinced you but I'm not sure you have convinced me."

"Receipts, George. Computer files, money transfers…they have too much evidence for me to not believe them."

George sat silently on the steps, thinking about what she had told him. He slowly began to admit to himself that he had seen things at The Facility that supported Seeley's evidence. He had always dismissed it before but now the case was stronger, and impossible to ignore.

"What you're asking Hester. It's, it's too much."

She nodded and took a deep breath before she continued, "If you don't want to help me then I suppose you can tell The Leader my plans. But we are both well aware that if you choose to inform him of my intentions, that they will end my life before they let me interfere with theirs."

* * *

><p>"Here, have some pasta," Max slid a plate of spaghetti toward his son-in-law.<p>

"I'm not really hungry."

"You've barely eaten since Tempe left."

"It's not been a priority Max."

"You're talking to a man who had to walk away from his children to save their lives. I get difficult decisions Booth."

"How the hell do our lives end up so complicated?"

"I don't know. They just do."

"That's insightful," Booth laughed, bitterly.

Christine's cries filled the room, coming from over the baby monitor that sat on the table between her father and grandfather.

Booth spotted Monkey sitting on the counter beside the refrigerator. "Aw Max, you put her to bed without Monkey? No wonder she's awake."

"She was out like a light; I didn't think she'd notice. You know that child's attachment to that stuffed monkey is not normal."

"Yeah, well, she has to fit into this family somehow, right?" Booth grabbed Monkey and walked into his daughter's room.

* * *

><p>She had stopped crying and was sitting up in her crib as Booth walked in. "Hey there, little one. I brought Monkey."<p>

Christine reached out for the stuffed animal but began to cry again as her dad picked her up. "I know, you want Mom. Soon, okay? I promise."

Booth swayed softly, rocking the baby side to side as he walked toward his room. He laid her and Monkey on the center of the bed as he undressed and pulled his pajamas out of the dresser drawers. He hummed as he dressed in his sleep pants and FBI t-shirt, the noise had always soothed the baby and she was content to lay there and wait on him.

As he closed the drawers he found himself staring at a picture of him and Brennan that was stuck into the side of the dresser mirror. It was taken at a Jeffersonian picnic while she was pregnant with Christine. They were standing on the National Mall and Booth had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, and his hand rested on her swollen belly. They both had huge smiles on their faces and Booth remembered that Hacker had just walked by and made a joke about their current relationship status, which had caused everyone to laugh. It was a moment of pure happiness that Angela had captured on film. Bones hadn't had too many of those moments in her life and Booth had thought that once they had gotten together that he would save her from her all that pain. He shook his head at himself as he realized that instead of saving her he had given her a whole new set of painful problems.

Booth heard a thump following by a cry from his daughter. Without looking he knew the thump was Monkey hitting the closet doors. It had been Christine's favorite game for weeks now, since she had learned that she was capable of slinging the small stuffed animal. It amused him that she always cried once she realized that she couldn't get him back. Sweets would probably say that this was a metaphor for Booth's current situation with his own mother. He had pushed her memory out of his mind for so long, happy that it was gone, but now that he realized he might lose it forever, he was devastated.

He picked Monkey up from the floor and crawled into bed with his daughter. He propped himself up on the pillows and placed Christine on his chest. Her eyes were beginning to dry as she used one hand to clutch Monkey and the other to grip his shirt. "We'll both sleep better once Mommy comes home, won't we little one?"

Christine snuggled even closer to him and he tried in vain to stop the tears from flowing down his face. He had never felt so helpless. Bones was in the hands of a madman and he had no idea how to get her back.

* * *

><p>Snuggling with his daughter Booth fell into an exhausted, dreamless sleep. When the phone rang he bolted out of the bed, his heart pounding with being waken suddenly. Christine began to cry, wailing when her safe haven was distributed by her father's movement.<p>

"Booth," he said into the phone angrily as he pulled his daughter into his lap to try and comfort her.

"Temperance Brennan is in Terminal 34A at Dulles National Airport." The voice on the other line was mechanical, as if it were a recording and the line disconnected before Booth could attempt to ask any questions.

He looked at the clock, it was three am. Wrapping Christine in a blanket to protect her from the cold night air, he sprung from the bed to tell his mom. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he raced to the guest room. Booth had no idea why The Leader had decided to return Bones before he got Hester and George back, but it didn't matter. He was going to get his wife and his mother in his life. It was perfect.

Booth knocked on the door to the guest room.

"Mom," he called several times before realizing that she wasn't going to answer. He slowly pushed the door open to discover that the bed was made, as if it had never been slept in. He checked the closet and found that their suitcases were also gone.

He should have known that it was too good to be true.

But he didn't have time to be upset now.

He had to go get his wife back.


	17. The Return of the Anthropologist

Booth left Christine with Max and jumped into his SUV. With the siren blaring, he weaved through the DC traffic as if the roads were empty. More than one driver was left cursing in his wake. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he found himself having to reach up and wipe the sweat off of his forehead as his anxiety began to get the better of him. Dodging traffic and lying on his horn in an attempt to move timid drivers out of his way, he managed the twenty mile drive to the airport in less than half an hour.

He pulled up to the valet parking service at the airport and didn't wait for his ticket as he ran through the front doors. Flashing his badge, he raced to the front of the security line and was ushered through into the terminal area. Booth knew exactly where terminal 34A was. It was the terminal that they had flown into on Monday morning.

He sped past passengers, nearly being stopped by a throng of travelers coming out of terminal 28. As he raced toward the restroom where he had last seen his wife, he looked at the faces in the crowd. Booth knew that someone had to have brought her here. He would find them.

As he got closer to the terminal he spotted her. Relief poured through him as he saw that she was still alive. As much as he had tried to ignore that little voice in his head, a part of him had known that there was a real risk that she might not be returned to him.

"Bones!"

Brennan's eyes locked with Booth's as she heard him call her name. She didn't move from where she stood, her back against the wall, as if it was the only thing holding her up. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused and, as Booth pulled her into his arms, she collapsed against him.

"Booth?" she asked her voice uncertain and shaky.

"Yeah, baby it's me, I'm right here. Are you okay?"

She pulled back to look at him, but didn't answer his question. He felt her forehead; her skin was cool and clammy. "What did they do to you?"

"Who?"

Booth closed his eyes. Damn it, George had promised that they wouldn't hurt her. He remembered what his mother said about being drugged. "We have to get you to the hospital, Bones."

She struggled against him as he tried to pull her away from the wall, realization dawning on her face. "No, I… I want to see Christine. Where is she?"

"She's with your dad. I'll call him and have him meet us but we have to get you checked out."

Brennan nodded and leaned against Booth as he led her out of the airport. Booth realized that he was supporting more of her weight than she was and it scared the hell out of him.

"They want her back."

"What?"

"They want her back."

"What are you talking about Bones?" Booth walked slowly trying not to rush her and resisting the urge to throw her over his shoulder and carry her out of the building.

"I, I don't know. I don't know what I'm talking about. My mind appears to be," she stopped, searching for a word to use, "fluffy. Where's Christine? I want to see her Booth."

Booth pulled her even closer to him and kissed her on the side of the head. "I'm taking you to her now. Okay? Everything is going to be okay now, Bones. I promise."

And this time it was a promise that Booth intended to keep.

* * *

><p>They had only been driving for a few minutes when Booth realized that she was no longer responding to his questions.<p>

"Bones!" He yelled at her in concern, hoping that she'd simply fallen asleep.

She groaned at him in response, her head rolling to the side and resting against the car window.

"Bones, come on, stay awake, we're almost there." He reached out and shook her shoulders, continuing to call her name and beg her to stay with him. Aside from an occasional moan she wasn't able to respond to him.

And by the time he stopped the car at the hospital, Brennan was unconscious. Booth scooped her up in his arms and made a mad dash toward the door. A security guard was watching and called inside for a gurney. The staff seemed to appear out of thin air; quickly whisking Brennan into the trauma bay and directing Booth to a registration area to fill out paperwork.

Max, with the baby in tow, joined Booth in the waiting room about an hour later, and that's where Cam found them when she came rushing in shortly afterward to check on Brennan. The worried looks on their faces made her heart leap into her throat. "Is she okay?"

"They're running some tests. She didn't look very good Cam."

Cam sat down beside of him and squeezed his knee, unable to find words to comfort him. She knew that nothing would make him feel better until he knew that Brennan was going to be okay.

"What about your mom?"

"I don't know. I guess that she went back to The Facility. George told her it was her choice but he was going back."

"I'm sorry Seeley."

"I'm not convinced she went back of her own will. He still could have forced her."

"Whatever choice your mom made Booth, she did it because she loves you. Take it from someone who knows." Max gave Booth a sympathetic look.

"Do you want me to take the baby?" Cam asked.

"Not until Bones gets to see her first. You can take her after that. I plan on spending the night here."

Cam nodded her understanding and took a seat beside Max.

"Temperance Brennan?" A doctor dressed in white scrubs walked into the waiting room.

"Yeah, that's us. I'm her husband." Booth stood so quickly that he knocked over a stack of brochures that had been sitting on the table next to him.

"Your wife is going to be fine, but she's still disoriented. Looks like someone gave her an extremely high dose of hallucinogenics and opiates. Not a very good combination. She's hypotensive and bradycardiac but she's more stable now than when you first arrived."

"How low was her pressure when they first got here?" Cam asked.

"Low," the doctor made eye contact with Cam to emphasize his point. "If she had gotten here much later I'm afraid that we'd be in a very different situation now. We're running fluids to clean the drugs out of her system but it'll take a while. Our main concern now is her kidney function, her creatinine and BUN levels are way too high."

"What does that mean?" Booth needed to know.

"It means her kidneys are failing," Cam answered.

"Yes, but in cases like these the damage is usually short term and reversible. We'll keep her on fluids and medications and recheck the levels in the morning. I fully expect that they will be back within normal limits."

"Usually? What if they don't go back?" Booth knew the doctor was trying to be reassuring but it wasn't making him feel any better to hear the details.

"Then we're looking at dialysis. In some cases one treatment is enough to rid the body of the toxins that have built up but in some cases there may have been permanent damage caused. I don't think we need to worry about that now. She needs to rest. Try to keep a positive attitude for now until we know differently. She'll probably sleep for most of today and tonight."

"Can I take our daughter in to see her?"

"Of course. She keeps saying something about wanting someone back; do you know what that means?"

"Yeah, I think I do."

"She's in Trauma 5 and we'll be moving her upstairs shortly. The nurses will let you know the room. If you need anything at all just let us know."

The doctor turned to leave and Booth took Christine from Max. "Bones kept saying that at the airport and on the way here. 'They want her back.' She has to be talking about Mom. They must have told her that at The Facility."

"I wonder if Tempe will remember anything that happened."

"The way she was acting earlier, Max, I doubt it."

"That might not be a bad thing, for her sake," Cam said.

Booth agreed. He wanted to know where his mother was but not at the expense of Brennan reliving whatever nightmare she had just been through. If she was able to give them any information it would be in her own time and without pressure from anyone, especially not from him.

"I'm going to take Christine and go on back to see her. You guys give us about half an hour, okay? I don't want to overwhelm her right now." It'd been about two hours since the emergency department staff had separated them and he was anxious to see her again.

Max nodded and Cam added that she'd go call the others and let them know what was going on.

Booth jiggled the baby on his hip, "Come on little one, let's go see your mommy."

Christine responded by slapping him in the face with her stuffed toy and Booth smiled at her. "Yes, Monkey can come too," he told her, glad that she was too small to understand just how close they had come to losing her mother.

With any luck Christine would never know how close they'd come to losing the woman they both loved more than anything.


	18. The Reunion at the Hospital

**Chapter Eighteen:**

Her skin was still a peculiar shade of grey, her eyes sunken with dark circles around them and when she spoke she could barely bring her voice above a whisper, but when Brennan saw Booth walk into the room holding Christine, the sparkle that had been missing from her eyes earlier magically returned. The baby seemed to realize that Mom needed her to take it easy and was content to lay against her chest holding Monkey while Brennan spoke to her in hushed tones.

Booth couldn't quite make out the words but he smiled watching Christine giggle in response to whatever Brennan was saying.

The door creaked open and Booth walked over to invite Max and Cam to come in.

Max knelt down to kiss Brennan on the forehead, "Hey baby. I'm so glad you're back."

"Me too, Dad. Booth says you were helpful with Christine. Thank you."

"No need to think me for that. I'm Grandpa, it's what I do."

He squeezed her hand before stepping back to allow Cam and Brennan a chance to speak. Walking back to where Booth stood he whispered, 'She looks exhausted.'"

"Yeah. I'm telling you Max, once I know she's going to be okay, I'm going after these bastards."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, Seeley."

Cam joined them after spending several minutes speaking to Brennan, the baby in her arms. "They're both sound asleep. Do you want me to take her home?"

"Yeah, that'd probably be a good idea. You're pretty tired too Max, you should go with them."

Max nodded, "You call if you need anything."

"I will."

As they left, Booth walked over and adjusted the covers, wrapping them tightly around Brennan. Reassuring himself that she was comfortable, he fell into a chair, sleep taking him as soon as he shut his eyes.

* * *

><p>"Booth?" Brennan's voice was thick with sleep as she tried to raise her head to look at him.<p>

"I'm right here," he scouted his chair closer to her bed and took her hand.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A few hours. But that's okay, the doctor said that you needed to rest. It'll give the drugs a chance to get out of your system."

"Christine went home with Cam?"

"Well, Cam and Michelle went to our house to keep her. Max is staying there too, but he's pretty worn out so they're going to help him with the baby."

"I don't feel very well, Booth." Her voice was weak and she was struggling to keep her eyes open as she spoke.

He brushed the hair off of her forehead and laid his head against hers, "I know you don't. Just rest, okay?" Booth spoke in hushed tones, trying to sooth her with his voice.

"Is your mom staying at the house too?"

It had been a long day. Brennan was still groggy and disoriented but Booth hadn't realized that she didn't understand what had happened. He adjusted himself in his chair and stroked the side of her hand with his thumb before he spoke.

"Mom went back to The Facility."

Brennan's eyes shot open wide and she lifted herself onto one elbow, turning towards him. "No, no, but you just found her. Why did she go back? She shouldn't have left."

"They wouldn't bring you back until they got her. They took you to blackmail her into returning."

Brennan collapsed back against the bed, as if all the energy that she still had in her had been zapped from her body. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't be sorry. None of this is your fault." He reached over to wipe the tears off of her face.

"I insisted that you talk to her. You didn't want to."

"I'm glad that I did. I'm glad that I got to know her, even if it didn't last. Okay? I'm glad."

Brennan had her eyes closed again, and her grip on Booth's hand was so tight that her knuckles were turning white. He whispered soothing words into her ear until she began to relax. "Tell me what you're thinking. Are you remembering?"

"It was quite unusual there, Booth. The walls were very white. So much so that it hurt my eyes to look at them. The floors were made of stone. The tiles were cold against my feet. They took my shoes away from me and made me walk barefoot. Where are my shoes? My rings?" Brennan looked down at her hands and felt bile rising in her throat. Material objects of course could be replaced, but the rings she wore were different than most possessions. Her mother's hand me down ring that her father had given her once he had reappeared in his life and the ring that had once belonged to Booth's grandmother; these were objects that could not be replaced.

"I don't know." Booth knew she was upset. "It doesn't matter Bones."

"But it does matter. Those rings carry quite a large amount of significance to me."

"Okay, but we'll worry about that later. Right now I'm worried about you." The feel of her hand in? his was cold and sweaty all at the same time. He kissed her lips, which had a peculiar shade of grayish blue to them, and encouraged her to continue talking about The Facility.

"They were all very nice to me Booth. Some of the ladies there, they gave me a machine and let me pump breast milk so that the baby could still nurse once I returned. I hadn't even thought of that."

Booth grimaced. He had. It had been quite a task to get Christine to take the first bottle of formula after they had run out of stored breast milk. He had almost thought she would go hungry until she realized that she had no other choice.

"It was such a sterile place. It smelled of formaldehyde and bleach; and reminded me quite a bit of the lab. The smells were almost too strong. And the rooms were all the same. They let me wander around quite a bit. They didn't try to keep me in one place. I felt like a zombie. I knew that they were drugging me, but I wasn't sure how."

"Do you remember how they took you from the airport?"

"No. Not at all. I remember leaving you to go to the restroom. And then I was on a plane again. There was a man sitting beside me, dressed in a grey suit. He didn't speak. I kept trying to speak but I couldn't. My tongue felt thick, and as if it were three sizes larger than normal. I would think of words that I wanted to say but I couldn't figure out how to make my mouth let me say them. I've never felt that way before."

"They found a lot of different drugs in your system. The combination did a number on you."

She nodded, remembering what the physician had told them earlier. "Has the doctor said anything else concerning my renal function?"

"They're going to recheck it in the morning. I guess we won't really know anything until then. Are you in pain at all?"

"Not really pain, no. I just feel sick at my stomach and I'm so tired. I can't explain it; it's like I've stayed up for a week without sleep."

"We'll figure all this out Bones. But not tonight, you need to rest."

He watched as a look of concern crossed her features. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"You're, you're not going to go anywhere, are you?"

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise," he reassured her.

"I'm sorry about your mom," Brennan said as tears threatened to fall once again. She had enjoyed having Hester around too. And that she was gone now crushed her heart.

"You think she's safe there?"

"I think it's her home. Do you wish she were still here?"

"There's nothing I would change about this Bones. Nothing. My home is right here with you. Go to sleep."

"You're not going anywhere are you?" She asked again, in her drug altered state.

He held her hand tighter, "No, if I have my way I'll never let go of you again."

For tonight he was content to sit and watch her sleep but tomorrow would be different. Starting tomorrow he intended to resume his investigation into The Facility. And someone was going to pay for what had happened to his wife.


	19. The Break in the Case

"I don't want to eat that Booth. It looks very unsavory."

"They said you had to eat before they'd release you, so just try it." Booth again presented her with a scoop of what the hospital claimed to be mashed potatoes. This time, under threat that she might have to spend more time in the hospital, she opened her mouth and accepted.

"Good girl. Do you want me to make airplane noises next time?"

Her glare cut through him but she was rewarded with a lopsided grin. "Will making airplane noises ensure that the next bite actually resembles potatoes in taste?"

"Vroom …" Booth was in the middle of another dive bombing of food when Hodgins opened the door.

"I have –" he stopped midsentence as he took notice of Booth. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Booth believes that imitating the sounds of passenger aircraft will stimulate my taste buds into enjoying this decidedly horrid tasting cafeteria food."

"Did you have a reason for almost busting the door down Hodgins?" Booth put down the spoon and shifted on the bed.

"Yeah, yeah. I think we caught a break."

"In finding my mom?"

"Yeah, maybe. I found a new alias for your mom's friend. George Santora was the name he used the entire time he was here. But when he left he booked his flight under the name George Harmon. Now, when I ran _that_ name through the system I found an arrest warrant."

"Why would he use a name he knew we could trace?" Booth wanted to know.

"I have no idea. But it's the first time he's slipped up. I was able to research his case. I found a list of known associates. Specifically a man named Herman Gomez. That name was on the manifest of a flight that took off bound for LAX on the day Brennan disappeared. Now I was able to trace Gomez's movements after he got off the plane in Los Angeles. He rented a car."

Hodgins was fidgeting, moving his weight quickly from foot to foot as he continued to talk without pausing to take a breath.

"Fine, ok, he screwed up, can we get to the point here?"

"Yeah. I found what is almost certainly an address for The Facility."

* * *

><p>Within an hour Brennan's hospital room had become ground zero for the planning of an invasion of The Facility.<p>

Hacker had been in contact with the field office in the northern California town where they believed The Facility to be. He had offered to have a task force of men there sent into the building to take down The Leader and free The Inhabitants. But Booth was worried about what might happen to his mother if that was how things went down. He told Hacker he wanted them to wait on him. He needed to be there when The Facility was raided. It was the only way he could make sure everything was handled properly. Hacker agreed that it was a good idea and arrangements were being finalized.

There was only one problem.

"I'm going with you, Booth."

"No, you're not. You're in a hospital Bones. You almost died three days ago; I'm not letting you back on an airplane."

"You're not letting me?"

The tone of her voice sent four FBI agents and Caroline Julian cowering in the corner to avoid the conversation.

"I love you Bones. And I almost lost you. That's not happening again."

"You didn't almost lose me. The doctor says that I'm fine now. My kidney function has returned to normal. There isn't any reason that I can't go with you. And plenty of reasons why I should."

"You were unconscious, barely breathing. Yes, I almost lost you. You may not want to believe it now but you had a very close call."

"We'll consult my physician. If he says I can go, then you have to defer to his judgment."

"There's no good reason for you to go with us Bones." He racked his hand through his hair in frustration. "I don't need this right now!"

"Cheri, I hate to butt in but there is good reason for her to go."

"Caroline, don't even-"

"Come on Booth, she's been there. You said the ladies were nice to you? Friendly?"

"Exceedingly so, yes."

"They'll trust her Booth. If we charge in there and all hell breaks loose who knows what will happen to those people. Last thing we need is to have to arrest all of them and traumatize them more. Or to have them resist arrest and end up harming themselves. Dr. Brennan can help them understand the situation."

Booth had his jaw set tightly. "Fine, but only if the doctor approves. And only if you promise to stay in the van until it all goes down. Once The Leader is captured and we know it's, safe we'll bring you in to talk to The Inhabitants."

* * *

><p>Hester and George had been back at The Facility since the night before Brennan had been returned. He had given her all the information he had on the evacuation plan. An exact replica of The Facility existed in another state. It was there as a contingency plan if anyone ever breached the walls of the current location. Moving The Inhabitants would be the easy part.<p>

They were used to blindly following orders.

"Do you really think we should do this? That we _can_ do this?"

"He lied to us George. What about your family?"

"Hester, I know that he lied to you. But I was there. I was witness to the demise of my family. There is no way that what I saw was faked. My family is here."

"I understand that. But everyone here deserves the truth."

"What if they want to go find their old lives?"

"Then we'll let them. We're not going to be him. Everyone here deserves the truth. Everyone will be welcome to return to their old lives. I saw my boy and I still returned. We will allow everyone who wants to leave to do so. But only with the warning that their old lives are already gone, and there is no way to get them back. I know these people, and most of them will choose to stay with us. But it has to be their choice George."

"When do you want to do it?"

"Tonight. Midnight. When he goes outside to take his tea."

"Hester, if this doesn't work …"

"Then we'll be in the same situation we're in now. If we fail, then we'll tell The Leader that the FBI has the address and he'll initiate the evacuation plan. But if we succeed we'll move everyone ourselves. Seeley will find The Leader's body and we can get back to our old lives. Do you have all the resources in place?"

George sighed. "I do."

She squeezed his hand and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Then I'll see you at midnight."


	20. The Beginning in the End

Brennan fidgeted nervously in the back of the FBI van. She concentrated on taking deep breaths and fiddled with her hands as she waited. Her doctors had agreed to release her, though Booth had continued to fight her on the subject. _That_ she could handle. It was the constant fussing and doting that she had to endure from him on the plane ride to California that had nearly made her lose her mind.

She had been in the van for only around half an hour when she saw the agents starting to file out of the building. Her heart dropped into her abdomen. If the mission was over this quickly, surely something had gone wrong. She found herself saying a silent prayer to a god she didn't believe in that Booth hadn't been injured. Or worse.

Her curiosity got the better of her and she could no longer sit still and abide by Booth's rules. She jumped from the surveillance unit and approached an agent who was putting his weapon back into a case nearby.

"What's wrong?"

"There isn't anyone in there," he answered her as he jerked thumb toward the door.

"No one?"

"Just a dead body in the garden."

Brennan ran into the building and found Booth and Hodgins standing in the foyer. "Where is everyone?"

"They've initiated the evacuation plan," Hodgins said.

"What?" Brennan asked.

"The evacuation plan. Remember when I was telling you two about the first Facility?"

"Vaguely," Booth did remember Hodgins speaking of a group of inhabitants that had tried to escape around the time he mother was first taken.

"It was in Wyoming. When the first group of inhabitants tried to escape, The Leader was afraid that they had compromised his position. He had a plan in place to move everyone to a second location. This one. If he had those plans once, he had them again."

"You think they're all off in some new secret location now? You think that's The Leader's body outside?"

As the men spoke, Brennan left Booth's side to wander about The Facility, hoping that it would jog her memory of being there the week before.

"Yeah and I think your mother may have led the charge. Her and George. The rest of the work could've been carried out by the other inhabitants. The plan and location would've already been in place; with George's position in The Facility he would've had inside information."

"What if they rebelled against Mom? What if they've killed her?"

"I don't think they have Booth."

Booth turned to see Brennan return. "How do you know?"

She took him by the hand and led him down a long, stark hallway lined on either side with large, steel doors. Hodgins followed along behind them as she led him into the seventh room down on the left. "This was your mother's room."

"All these rooms look the same Bones, how can you be sure that you found the right one?"

"Because of these," Brennan said as she opened up the nightstand drawer.

Inside was a picture and three rings.

"She made sure she got these back to me."

Booth took the rings from the drawer and slowly placed them on Brennan's hands. He rubbed his thumb along her wedding rings.

He let go of her hands and removed the picture. As Booth examined the image of his mother and his daughter, smiling up at him from the photograph, it all finally made sense.

"George didn't mess up."

"What?"

"When he used the wrong name on the flight manifest. He didn't mess up."

Brennan and Hodgins exchanged confused glances.

"Mom made those reservations. She knew. She knew that using that name would lead us to The Facility. She wanted me to know what she had done." He stopped and drew a breath. "Even if she didn't want me to find her."

"Your mother is the hero. Because of her everyone wins."

"Everyone but The Leader," Hodgins added as he smiled and left the room.

Booth had already realized that.

However, that realization didn't make any of this hurt any less. The reality of where they were standing hit Booth hard. He was in the room that his mother had lived in; in the room where she had sat night after night during his childhood, probably reading a book or sewing the hem of a dress. It was where she was when he had his first fight, when he walked across the stage at his high school graduation, all the nights he had spent in some hell hole waiting on the perfect shot. This room was where his mother had fallen asleep the night Parker had been born, and when Christine had made him and Brennan a real family.

He closed his eyes tight against the onslaught of memories. He sank to his knees as he recalled nights spent praying that God would bring his mommy back. Times that even as an adult when he forgot that she was gone. That when for the briefest of moments he forgot that she was dead. He gripped the photo so hard in his hands that the edges crinkled. His tears fell unchecked onto the matte finish of the digital print. He mourned for his mother and grieved for the family that had been taken from him.

Booth finally had all the answers for the mysteries of his childhood.

He almost didn't feel her hand at first. He didn't notice that Brennan had dropped to her knees as well. Didn't realize that she had placed her hand over his knuckles, which had turned white from the force he was exerting on the picture. Almost didn't know that she had laid her forehead against his and was swaying back and forth while holding him in an embrace made awkward by their positions on the floor.

But then he did.

And then he knew. He knew that everything was going to be fine. His mother couldn't give him back the years that his father had stolen from him. She couldn't return to him the memories that they never had the chance to make. But she had done the one thing that only she could do.

His mother had returned his future to him.

* * *

><p>Hester and George stood in the middle of a large open room. Around them were all one hundred inhabitants. The pair had told their story only after they had relocated everyone to the new Facility. They had not revealed that George had been the one to end The Leader's life; that he had put a bullet through his head with the very gun that The Leader had given him to stop The Inhabitants from leaving, were anyone to ever attempt it.<p>

Otherwise, everyone was well aware that they might have been brought to The Facility under false pretenses. But no one wanted to leave. This was their family now. For whatever circumstances had brought them together, all that mattered now was that it was what it was supposed to be.

As she and George passed out brushes, cans and rags, Hester stood back to observe a section of wall that had already been completed. She smiled at what she saw.

"Yes, I think that this is the perfect shade of blue for the walls."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_

_I started working on this piece last winter. It has changed shape and direction many times over these past months mainly because I found myself very unsatisfied with the ending. The original ending of this story was miles away from what you've just read. And I do think that the ending I have now is exactly what it needed to be. Although, judging by your comments, I don't think it is what many of you were expecting. My intention was to have the entire story posted well before the end of season seven, but obviously, that did not happen._

_I have to thank three very special people for all their help while I was writing this story. First of all Frankie, who was there in the very beginning when I said, "I have this weird idea, what do you think?" Rynogeny, who was also there from very early on and wasn't afraid to say "this isn't working," and then proceeded to help me figure out how to make my vision for Booth's unhappy ending a much clearer reality. (The idea for the evacuation plan was all hers.) And last but not least I have to think someonetookmyname for her detailed and quick beta work. Because when I was ready to publish a chapter she was always quick on the draw to look it over and point out all the flaws that needed to be fixed first. She never made me wait and I am very thankful for that. Without these three ladies, this story never would have been written._

_I also want to think each and every person who read this story. To thank those of you who put this in your alerts or added it to your favorites. Everyone who reviewed a chapter and those who faithfully reviewed every chapter made me smile a little bit more with each ding of the incoming email. _

_This story has consumed me over the past eight months and it feels good to finally have it all out. I have learned a lot while writing and I know that I have truly grown as a writer through this experience. My original goal was to reach 30,000 words (my longest fan fiction to date), and this ends at just under 40,000 and it looks like it'll limp to just over 100 reviews. _

_And if anyone is still reading at this point I just want to thank you all once again for sticking with me despite the delays and broken promises and I hope that you enjoyed the ride at least half as much as I did!_

_Thank you!_

_~ Bailey_


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